


Blood Warrior

by MysticalAuthoress



Category: The Last Story, The Last Story (Video Game)
Genre: Attempted Murder, Blood, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Death, Developing Relationship, Evil Plans, F/M, Gen, Gore, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Sex, M/M, Murder, Plans, Possession, Post-Game(s), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Power Dynamics, Redemption, Resurrection, Revenge, Stabbing, The Last Story spoilers, Trauma, Visions in dreams, knowledge is power, takes place post The Last Story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-08
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2019-05-07 02:28:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 42,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14661449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysticalAuthoress/pseuds/MysticalAuthoress
Summary: Crossposted from Fanfiction.net. After an encounter with the mysterious beings known as Blood Creatures, Therius finds himself as the possible savior of the entire Empire, to protect his world from a force that wants to dominate the world around him. In the midst of this fight, however, he soon realizes that there are people that are willing to stay by his side, no matter what.





	1. By the blood

_There is a legend about the creatures of blood._

_The creatures of blood lure their prey, before baptizing them with blood and consuming then._

_Legend has it that one of those that they lure, however, will not become their meal after being baptized, but will be chosen to become a savior to the world they inhabit._

_They call this savior the_ **Blood Warrior.**

* * *

**_1\. By the blood_ **

There was screaming of the people.

There was fire, consuming everything in its path.

And in the middle of the chaos, there was a knight of white.

Sir Therius tried to assess his surroundings as he struck down another Reptid. No one had any idea of how the Reptids had gotten to the villages surrounding Lazulis. They should have been sealed away for good when Zael and his troops sealed off the only entrance that led to Lazulis from the Reptid underground hideaways.

Obviously, though, the Reptids had dug a new path, and now they were attacking the villages out of vengeance, for vengeance that they hadn't been rescued from the poisoned waters down below.

Therius couldn't just let this happen, of course. It was a knight's duty to protect the people, to put others before oneself. He and the best-trained of the soon-to-be knights from the Empire had went to the villages immediately to fight against the Reptids.

Things weren't going too well. Some of the knights fled the scene once things got rough, and some of them were just simply too weak. The amount of Reptids attacking was more than originally thought to be, and everything just wasn't going well at all.

He slashed aside another Reptid, continuing to fight until-

The Reptids suddenly ran away. Therius stared at them in confusion. What would make them suddenly run away? Perhaps the Reptids had been called to retreat suddenly? Maybe it was a trap. He ordered the knights still standing to not follow them and tend to the wounded, before looking around.

He heard a faint whisper in his ear.

_By the blood you shall be purified, and by being purified you shall become the savior._

"What?" He spoke aloud, looking around. There was no one immediately beside him, and he found this...extremely odd. Who had spoken just now?

"Is there anything wrong, sir?" One of the knights spoke up, noticing Therius' expression of suspicion.

Therius shook his head quickly. "No. It is nothing concerning you. Go tend to the wounded and gather the villagers together. Tell the others to keep watch over the villagers as well." The knight nodded, before walking towards the other villagers.

The white-haired knight looked around. He was sure that someone had spoken just now, but who?

It was then that he caught sight of a slender, shadowy figure a few feet away from him. It paused, noticing that Therius saw it, before it suddenly flew away, into the forest nearby. Therius knew he had to investigate. What was that creature? He had never seen anything like it before. It was no Reptid, for sure...

He paused, ordering the knights to keep watch over the villagers and to put out the fires immediately, before rushing into the forest. He had to find that creature. He had to know what was going on. He just had to know.

He eventually stopped running. How far did he end up in the forest, anyway? Maybe searching for the creature wasn't worth it. He should be tending to the villagers and making sure the knights he commanded were in line, not searching for something that could have been a trick of the light.

Before he could turn around and go back to the village, however, shades of bloody red danced into his vision and turned it to a raven black.

* * *

He woke up, lying on the ground on his back. A spell of dizziness prevented him from trying to sit up, and he closed his eyes briefly as the headache pulsed through his mind.

What had happened earlier? How long had he been knocked out? Perhaps that creature from earlier knocked him unconscious, for fear of being followed. He knew he should probably head back to the village-the soldiers were probably wondering where he was, now.

Before he could let his mind wander any further, something liquid-like hit his left cheek with a soft  _drip._

Therius blinked out of his thoughts, and the headache had ceased slightly. He slowly, cautiously, let his right hand slide towards his face, before touching at his left cheek. He then pulled it away to look at it.

The liquid was blood, the colour being as scarlet as the darkest red rose.

Therius initially recoiled at the sight-until splatters of blood landed on his forehead and the rest of his face. Some drops got into his eyes, and he had to blink and rub at his eyes furiously to get it all out. The same slim figures from before-one of them, he was sure, he had followed-appeared in his vision, all of them splattered in blood.

It was then that Therius knew what was going on. These creatures lured their prey to a more private area before-before capturing them and baptizing them with-

_Blood._ Therius' eyes widened in disbelief. They were going to baptize him with blood and consume his soul afterwards. He had to get away-he  _needed_ to get away before they were finished with the baptism! Otherwise they would be able to eat his soul, and-and-

He did  _not_  want to die. Not like this...

He immediately tried to scramble to his feet, determined to run away from them, no matter how cowardly the action was. He figured he would have to fight them off, and-

His train of thought broke once again as several clawed, slender and blood-splattered hands pinned him down to the ground by his ankles and wrists. Human-like faces, but with wide, wide eyes, glanced down at him curiously as he tried to struggle against their grasp. In an instant, he remembered the pictures of these beings in the few books he had read about the myths surrounding the Empire.

_The Blood Creatures. They are here..._

"Unhand me at once!" Therius snapped, trying to move his arms and legs in a vain attempt. The sound of metal being unsheathed caught his attention, and he noticed them pulling out his sword from its scabbard. Therius immediately tried to grab it, so he could slash at them and get out of his restraints, but the blood creatures took it away before he could even hold one fingertip to the sword's handle. "Let me go!"

Blood rained down upon his struggling form, and he repeatedly blinked to try to get some of the blood out of his eyes. Some locks of his white hair got into his face, and he saw that they were completely soaked a dark scarlet, dyed from the blood that the blood creatures were using on him for his 'baptism.'

He wasn't sure what to do-he was unarmed, he was restrained, and blood was being poured all over him constantly. At this rate, the baptism would be finished soon and his soul would be eaten by these beings. He could scream for help, but he doubted anyone could hear him.

Before he could get himself to make a decision, he suddenly felt the pouring of the life-giving liquid upon him halt, as if someone had just turned the tap of a sink to stop the water from flowing anymore. His eyes snapped open as a feeling of dread invaded his chest.

He was going to die; completely defenseless, surrounded by the creatures of blood and have his soul eaten by them. He closed his eyes again, not wanting to see them as they consumed his soul.

Instead of pain or whatever feeling that was connected to souls being eaten, he felt the brush of a blood-splattered hand touch the scar above his left eye. His eyes shot open again, and he noticed that very hand belonged to one of the Blood Creatures. The creature gazed at Therius with a tender look in its glassy eyes, and Therius almost fell into a trance just by looking at those eyes. The knight blinked as the hand trailed downward from the scar towards his cheek, caressing it gently. He shuddered slightly at the touch-it wasn't cold like ice, nor as warm as fresh blood-no, it was a combination of both temperatures and he felt unused to it.

He heard a quiet voice in his head suddenly, and he knew that the creature had been the one to speak it to him earlier.

_By the blood you shall be purified, and by being purified you shall become the savior._

"Wait-" Therius tried to manage a sentence, confused by the statement. "What do you mean by-by-purified? Or the savior? The savior of what?"

_In time you will know._

He felt a pair of lips gently press against his scar, and he suddenly felt very, very sleepy. Unable to fight the drowsiness, he saw his world turn to black as the alarmed shouts of soldiers faded from his ears.

* * *

Three cloaked figures gathered together, in a secret place.

"So...It seems that the so-called savior of this world has finally been chosen by the Blood Creatures." One of them spoke, a curious tone echoing her voice. "I don't seem to remember his name, though..."

"It is Sir Therius." The second spoke, taller and older than the young, cloaked female. "He currently took over the late General Asthar's position of training the soon-to-be knights of the Empire. I would like to think the creatures chose a good one to be the savior." He finished, giving a small chuckle. "He sounds very interesting to me."

"Our master will be pleased to hear this. That man will be vital to his plans..." The third spoke, its voice slightly sharper than the other two. It looked at the second cloaked figure that had spoken, before it spoke again. "Go to Lazulis City. Since the Blood Creatures found him close to there, he will probably be brought there to recover from that event. Go to Lazulis City, and see if he is truly the one to be the savior of this world."

"Understood." The man disappeared, leaving the other two behind.

"Why can't I do it?" The younger one asked the third one. "I have just as much as power as he does. You know that!"

"True." The third agreed. "You do have enough power to equally match Therius in battle. But, you are needed for something else. Should the one I just sent fail his mission, you will needed to take down the savior so that our master will achieve his ultimate goal, to have complete power over the Blood Creatures and rule this world. Understood?"

The younger one let out a sigh, before responding. "Alright, alright...I'll just keep a close eye on him. Don't worry, I won't interfere unless I really have to. Promise." With that being said, she disappeared from sight.

The last one smiled from underneath the cloak. "I wonder, Sir Therius...How will you try to defy us?"


	2. Haunted

The feeling of something damp and cold as ice roused Therius from his unconsciousness. He jerked upwards, trying to sit up, but two strong arms held him down. The white knight writhed in the firm grip for a moment, before he heard a familiar voice.

"Therius! Therius, calm down...please. It's alright. You're safe here."

A familiar young man made eye contact with him, and Therius immediately recognized him.

"Z-Zael...?" Therius let his body relax back onto the bed that he was lying on, and also noticed a young, familiar raven-haired woman remove a damp cloth from his forehead. "Miss Mirania..." He paused, before speaking again. "Where am I? How did I get here?"

"Your soldiers found you unconscious in the woods, completely covered in blood. They were worried that you had been ambushed." Mirania explained quietly to him. "You're in the hospital wing of Lazulis Castle right now."

"I-I see..." Mirania helped him sit up as he continued. "I was...ambushed by Blood creatures...That would probably explain my initially bloody appearance when I was found. They didn't try to consume my soul, though, which is odd..."

"Blood creatures?" Zael asked, confusion overtaking his face. "What are those things?"

"They lure lost people towards a secluded place, and then they 'baptize' the prey in blood and consume their souls." The three turned to see Yurick, walking into the room as he spoke up. "There is a myth surrounding them that there will be one that they baptize and not kill. That person will be known as the Blood Warrior, who will save the world from destruction." The white-haired fire mage let out a sigh, before finishing. "Therius, if that myth is actually real, it's possible that they chose you as the Blood Warrior."

Confusion crossed Therius' mind. "Me? The Blood Warrior?" He blurted out, before biting his tongue a little to stay silent. He didn't know how to respond-he never thought anything like that could happen to him specifically...

A whispery sigh made its way into his ear, and he turned to see none other than a Blood creature, gazing at him with wide eyes as a bloody hand reached forward to touch his cheek. Therius' eyes widened, and he initially slapped the hand away.

"Don't touch me." He growled, inching away from the creature a little. _"Stay. Back."_  The blood-splattered creature stared at Therius, before it floated a few inches away from his face. Therius took a deep breath, before speaking again. "Leave me alone. Leave the others alone. Do you understand?" The blood creature tilted its head to the side, like a curious child, before it vanished from view.

Zael, Mirania, and Yurick were silent for a moment, before Zael spoke up. "Yurick...should I assume that only Therius can control the Blood creatures, since he's probably the Blood Warrior?"

"Yes, he can control them, but he's not the only one." The fire-wielding teen responded, crossing his arms. "I think if anyone has enough power, they can probably control them, but the Blood Warrior should have ultimate power above all of those creatures. They would obey his every order without question, but...if there are others that can control the Blood creatures as well, I think those others and the Blood Warrior would have a struggle for power over them."

Mirania looked at Therius, who was silent. "Are you alright, Therius?" She asked quietly, glancing at his face, which was as pale as a sheet.

Therius blinked, before responding. "I'm fine, Miss Mirania." He answered too quickly. "I just...I just need time to think."

It was then that he looked into a nearby mirror, and noticed that the scar above his left eye was dyed a deep crimson.

* * *

The white knight slid into the water, filled to the brim with frothy bubbles. After reassuring the others that he was alright, he had decided to bathe. It was long since he had a proper bath, and it would give him time to ponder over this information about the Blood creatures and the myths surrounding them.

He touched the scar above his left eye briefly with a soapy hand, before he let it fall to his side. The Blood creatures had marked his scar, and the scarlet colour of it was as noticeable as the first flower that bloomed in spring. He was thankful that his snow-white hair was free of any blood-it would have been terrible if it had permenantly dyed his hair. The mark was a more than easy-enough reminder of the 'baptism' he had gone through days ago. He didn't need anything else to remind him of that incident.

He closed his eyes, sinking further into the bath until only his neck and head could be visible, trying to ignore the memory. He instead focused on what Yurick had told him earlier.

The Blood Warrior? Therius could not comprehend why the Blood creatures would choose him to take such a role. Why choose him, out of everyone else in existence?

A slender hand snaked its way to his shoulder, and he turned to see a Blood creature, looking at him with wide eyes as it caressed his shoulder, streaking it with blood. Therius jerked himself away from the creature, eyebrows furrowing in frustration as he snapped.

"I  _thought_  I told you earlier to leave me  _alone_." He muttered quietly, making eye contact with the creature. "Can I not have any sort of privacy?"

The creature didn't answer him, and it watched Therius scrub the blood off his shoulder. The white knight let out a sigh, before he spoke again.

"Why did your kind choose  _me_  to be the Blood Warrior?"

There was silence for a moment, before a voice resonated in his head.

_In time you shall know._

The creature disappeared from sight, before Therius could ask anymore questions.

Later in the night, visions of the Blood creatures constantly haunted his dreams.

* * *

Zesha was once again struck down, and through pained eyelids he watched the Blood creatures swarm the Gurak, _his people_ , as the mysterious cloaked being spoke to him.

_"You will **leave**  this place. Leave this place now, or I will order the Blood creatures to kill your people  **one by one**. Now."_

The new leader of the Gurak tried to shout something in defiance, unwilling to obey, but the cloaked one grabbed him by the neck.

_"You **will**  answer to me, Zesha. **Leave. Now."**_

Zesha felt himself being thrown onto the stone floor again, and with a shaky hand, he summoned the last bit of magic to send himself to a hopefully safer place. He wasn't sure if the humans there would accept his presence, but they were the only ones to turn to for help. As much as he loathed them for taking his brother away from him, they were the only ones that could...

_"Z-Zesha!?"_

_"What-what is he doing here?"_

_"He is bleeding-he's injured-we need to help him, now!"_

_"...Why is he here?"_

He tried to speak up to explain why, but his vision blacked out, leaving him in a silent darkness.


	3. Confusion

Therius stepped forwards, before he sat down on his knees. He looked at the grave across from him, and he closed his eyes, letting out a breath.

_General Asthar...what would you tell me to do if you knew about this?_

He opened his eyes again, and stared at the late General's grave. Whenever he had gotten confused about an issue, the General had given him clarity. But now he was gone, and Therius was stuck in a whirlwind of misty confusion. He didn't know what to do with this power-nothing but to use it wisely. But how was he supposed to use such deadly powers wisely? They seemed as deadly as the Outsider's power-maybe even more than that.

_How do I use this power wisely, without hurting anyone?_

He heard a soft, muffled voice croon softly in his ear, and he turned to see some of the Blood creatures, gazing at him quietly, before their eyes flickered temporarily towards the grave.

"He was my mentor, my guide." Therius explained quietly to them, guessing that they were wondering who General Asthar was. "He was a great man-he knew how a true knight should act. His skills...are yet to be matched by me. I know that I am still not worthy enough to be called the General's equal-I just know and feel it."

"Sir Therius?" He turned his head to see a familiar, black-robed figure walk towards him.

"Miss Mirania..." He trailed off quietly, standing up and facing her completely. "What is it?"

Mirania hesitated, before speaking. "An hour ago...Zesha of the Gurak Continent suddenly arrived at Lazulis Castle. He was injured quite a lot."

"Zesha?" Therius had never met the new Gurak leader in person, but he knew that he had attempted to kill Zael and his friends because they killed his brother, Zepha. He also knew that he and Zepha were right-hand men to the late Zangurak. Considering that Zesha claimed to dislike humans, it seemed ironic that he went to them for help. "What happened to him?"

"The Gurak Continent was attacked only hours ago." Mirania folded her hands together, wincing slightly before she continued. "Zesha said that Blood creatures attacked them."

Therius' eyes widened. "Bring me to him. Please."

* * *

Zesha could barely form a glare in his weakened state as he watched the black-haired healer enter the room, along with a white-haired knight he did not recognize at first. He then remembered- _General Asthar's pupil-_ and he spoke up quietly. Callista and Zael were by his bedside, having been healing his injuries and trying to get information about the Blood creatures' attack out of him, but he had not been able to speak yet. He  _did_  nearly get his throat completely slashed during the attack, after all-he couldn't speak so easily as he hoped he could.

"It's  _you._  General Asthar's pupil." The Gurak leader managed to say, despite his damaged vocal chords trying to restrain him from speaking. He peered through a blackened eye to see a dark scarlet mark just above Therius' left eye. "That  _mark...it's..."_

"The Blood Warrior's mark. I know." Therius answered him quietly. "My name is Therius, Lord Zesha."

_"Lord?"_  Zesha scoffed slightly. "Please. I could _never_  be equal to the late Lord Zangurak. He united all of my p-" He suddenly went into a series of coughs, and he felt his body convulse in pain.

"Zesha! Just...please. You shouldn't strain yourself." Zael told him quietly.

"I'm not sure if now is a good time to talk. He needs _rest,"_  Callista cut in, making eye contact with Zesha before turning towards Therius, "And you should rest as well, Therius. I think all of us would be able to communicate better with a good night's sleep."

"But-" Both Zesha and Therius protested, but Callista silenced them with another look.

"I can speak to Zesha, Callista." Mirania told Callista quietly. "I think it would be better for the rest of you to discuss about the issue in private, and come back to Zesha tomorrow morning. He needs to rest." She waited quietly for Zael, Callista and Therius to leave the room before she turned towards Zesha. "You're safe here, Lord Zesha." She tried to reassure him. "Just get some rest-I'm sure you'll be able to speak better by the morning, I just need to heal your neck more..."

"Please...I do-do  _not_  deserve a title like that. Not after-not after- _after_  how I-" Zesha croaked out, coughing another time after he finished. He took a few, shallow breaths, before trying to continue. "After how I...left...left my people...to  _suffer_  in the hands-hands of-"

"The Blood creatures?" Mirania tried to help as she gently laid a hand on the Gurak leader's throat. She felt him suddenly grab her wrist tightly. "I'm not going to hurt you, Zesha. _Please._..let me help you."

Both pairs of eyes made contact, and they were both silent. Mirania saw the fear in Zesha's eyes; fear for his people, fear of being unable to protect them. Mirania didn't know what to say, but she knew the feeling of being unable to protect others. She had been unable to save some of the land from dying because of the Outsider's power for a long while, and she had felt terrible about it. Perhaps, Mirania mused in her mind, perhaps Zesha felt something quite akin to what she felt back then, except it was for something different.

Zesha seemed to hesitate, before his grip on her wrist went slack. She gently placed it aside with her other hand, before she closed her eyes and focused on healing the long-haired Gurak.

"Not just the Blood creatures." He rasped out quietly. Mirania listened carefully, unsure if she heard what he said correctly. "Not just the Blood creatures-they-they were not the only ones. There was...a man. And...Reptids, following him. Tried to...hold against them, but they were..."

"Too powerful for you to handle?" Mirania tried to help again. "I understand, I'm sorry..."

"It is... _not_  your fault..." She heard him murmur quietly. "Not yours...mine. It's all... _my fault..."_

Zesha and Mirania both went silent, and they did not speak again for the rest of the night.

* * *

"I'm finally here." A cloaked man looked around Lazulis' ports. "I should rest around here for the night...I need to keep myself hidden until morning." He murmured to himself. He let out a sigh of relief, just as he heard a soft voice speak suddenly from behind him.

_"Boo."_

"Aah!" He turned around, and he glared at a little girl laughing, wearing the same cloak as he did. "Ulrica, what are you doing here? I'm doing this mission  _myself,_  and I do not need your help!" He snarled, taking a sword out and pointed it at her as he spoke.

"What? I'm just assigned to watch over you, Cassius." She responded, crossing her arms and tilting her head slightly as she gave a small frown towards him. "There is no need to get so mad, you know."

He let out a sigh as he sheathed the sword. "Alright, I understand...it's because I'm the weakest out of the three of us, right?" He asked quietly. Ulrica merely nodded in response. "It's fine, Ulrica. I have power over the Blood creatures...and Sir Therius will have no choice but to fight me to gain more power over them himself. That is where I have an  _advantage,_  because I _know_  how to use them properly."

As he spoke, a Blood creature had appeared quietly from behind him, and it reached out quietly to touch his shoulder.

He turned, glaring at the creature as he slapped its blood-splattered hand away. "Do  _not_  dare touch me." He snapped, and the Blood creature recoiled from him. He smirked slightly, before turning towards Ulrica again. "See? They obey my commands _without_  second thought. Sir Therius will be overwhelmed before he will be able to fully harness even the  _basics_  of handling Blood creatures."

"I'll give you the  _benefit_  of the doubt, and hope that you succeed. I will be watching, Cassius." With that being said, she disappeared into the night. Cassius cursed quietly to himself.

"Benefit of the doubt? How dare she." He muttered quietly, crossing his arms. "I  _will_ destroy Therius...no matter what. And then I will rise in the ranks of power and be equal with my master...just you wait. Just you wait, Ulrica."


	4. Labyrinth

"I finally got to the castle! Where could that knight be?" Cassius muttered quietly as he entered Castle Gate Plaza. "Dang it, if I'm going to find Sir Therius soon, I suppose I'll just have to mix things up..."

"And the master has made us come with you." Cassius turned to see two cloaked figures, their faces obscured by the hoods. He didn't need to know their appearance to know who they were, however.

"You two!? You...you followed me here, didn't you?" Cassius let out a sigh, shaking his head. "The master really didn't trust me with handling this mission alone, isn't that right?"

The taller of the two in front of him nodded. "Apparently so." He responded. Both cloaked figures exchanged glances with each other before he continued speaking. "He wants us to search the castle along with you once you cast your Area Illusion spell. It would be easier to find Therius."

Cassius looked at the castle, before looking at the two, before looking at the castle again. "I suppose that's true. I'm the only one here that has no idea how the original layout of the castle works, after all..."

* * *

Zesha's eyelids slowly opened as sunlight streamed through the infirmary windows. Lazily glancing to his right, he saw a young woman with short, black hair sitting in a chair near him, asleep. It was then that the pain rushed back to his body, and he cringed as he struggled to sit up.

Memories from yesterday snapped back into his mind-the Reptids, the Blood creatures, that one cloaked figure that forced him to _leave_  his people behind. The Gurak leader put a hand to his throat, and felt the scars there. He doubted the scratches were deep-he would be able to speak well eventually, but for now he should rest his vocal chords...

He glanced at the sleeping healer again. What was her name? He had seen this person before-he had fought against her, even. What was her name? Racking his mind for the name didn't help-it gave him a headache instead.

"Damn it." Zesha uttered quietly as he held his head with one hand, praying that the throbbing pain in his head would cease soon.

He heard a soft purr to his left, and he turned to come face to face with none other than Blood creatures. He recoiled at first-he didn't want to get killed by them or anything of the sort, but he soon realized that they didn't look like they wished to harm him.

Two cold, damp hands gently pushed him into a proper sitting position, and he looked behind him to see another Blood creature. They must have wished to help him this time, rather than harm him. Perhaps, Zesha mused, because of the fact that they were not being controlled by anyone at the moment meant that they would do what they wanted to do and not just go kill people all the time.

_Could I stand?_ He was unsure of whether he had the strength to do so. He hoped he could. Now, he just needed to get up-

He felt two Blood creatures pull him to his feet, and he stood quietly, staring at them. He swayed slightly, but he eventually caught his balance. He stared at the creatures, unsure of how to react.

_...That was unexpected...wait, unless..._

_Can they read my thoughts?_

The Blood creatures surrounding him just nodded in response as if he had asked them the question aloud.

_Oh. So they_ can _read my thoughts._

He looked around quietly, before glancing at the sleeping young mage again.

_Do you know her name, by any chance?_

There was no answer for a moment, before several voices suddenly whispered their way into his head.

_Mirania...Mirania...Mirania..._

Zesha nodded in response to them, and the Blood creatures went silent. He glanced at the blanket on the bed that he had been previously sleeping in, and he figured he would try something. He pointed at the blanket, before pointing towards Mirania.

A few of the Blood creatures picked up the blanket, staining it a little with their blood-splattered hands, and carried it to Mirania before dumping it on her sleeping body.

_...So that works as well...but why are they even obeying me?_

Looking down at his hands, he noticed something was definitely amiss about them. His dark eyes widened slightly in disbelief.

_This should not be possible._

* * *

Mirania let out a yawn as she woke up, blinking sunlight out of her eyes as she pushed the blanket off her body-

Wait. What blanket?

She stared at the blanket covering her, a few bloody handprints staining the white sheet. Looking around, she realized there was the absence of a certain Gurak leader. Pushing the blanket aside and standing up, she looked around the room.

"Zesha must have left earlier..." She muttered quietly to herself as she smoothed out her short, black hair the best she could with her hands. "Where could he have gone?"

She turned to see a Blood creature, gazing at her quietly, before it pointed to the door.

"He went that way?" She asked aloud. The creature nodded, before floating through the door. "Wait!"

* * *

Therius sighed as thoughts of the Blood creatures and the myths surrounding them kept invading his mind. He couldn't get it all out of his head-he couldn't clear his mind at all.

Possibly being the legendary Blood Warrior was one thing, but the struggle for power over the Blood creatures kept reminding him of the war from earlier, reminding him of when people fought for the Outsider. That war hadn't been too long ago, and Therius prayed that another one wouldn't start anytime soon.

"Theri...us."

The white-haired knight turned to see Zesha approach him.

"Lord Zesha." Therius returned, bowing a little before the Gurak leader. "Are you in any better health than the previous night, sir?"

Zesha looked downwards for a moment, before he made eye contact with the white knight. "Yes. Better, though..." He gestured to his neck, and Therius noted the long, deep scar across from it. "I suppose that I might not be able to speak the greatest-not until it-"

"Understood." The two were silent for a moment, before Therius spoke up again. "You wished to speak with me?"

Zesha nodded, before he spoke again. "Do you know about the mark on your forehead?"

Therius nodded quietly. "Yes. I do."

The Gurak leader let out a breath, before he stated something Therius didn't think was possible.

"I have the same mark on my right hand."

Zesha extended his hand for Therius to see, and it was as clear as day-the blood-red mark was one and the same.

* * *

Mirania rushed through the corridors, searching for a glimpse of the Gurak leader. She would use her nose, but she doubted that she had any idea of what he smelled like. All she could depend on to help her right now were the Blood creatures that led her to who-knows-where.

She stopped running as soon as she heard a voice.

"Ah, you've come back. What is it?"

This wasn't Zesha's voice, or Therius, or anyone she knew. Or could it be-no, impossible! He was supposed to be dead...

"...Oh. I see. We didn't have to use her, but if she's the closest one to luring Sir Therius and Lord Zesha..." She heard the sound of a cringe, before the statement was finished. "I'm sorry, Mirania. I didn't want this to happen."

Her eyes widened, feeling a presence behind her, and she turned, realizing who it was.

_"General Astha-"_

Something heavy hit her in the side of the face, and her world went black.

* * *

Cassius stared at the black-haired girl silently.  _"Her?"_  He asked, crossing his arms. "Asthar, what were you thinking?"

The former General let out a sigh. "She was the first one to be lured by them. First comes is first served."

Cassius went onto a knee, touching the unconscious mage's face, before smiling. "Perhaps you've done something useful-Therius and Zesha will come flocking to us to look for her. She'll be of use. Good work."

Asthar didn't say a thing. Instead, he knew, deep down inside, that he had betrayed a former ally and friend.

He had broken the knight's code; never betray your allies in the midst of battle. He had broken it, and he regretted it.

It was a price to pay for being alive again.


	5. Enemy

Therius' eyes widened, and he grabbed Zesha's hand, taking a closer look at the symbol. "How is this possi-"

Therius stopped speaking, remembering that Zesha had been attacked by the same creatures that assaulted him. And Zesha _did_ survive, too. It would make perfect sense if he had the mark of the Blood Warrior, now that he realized it.

"All I know," Zesha merely responded, "Is that you and I both have the same abilities."

Therius only nodded, touching the symbol of the Blood Warrior above his left eye. Neither one had any sense of an idea of how they would use these abilities. Therius only hoped that they could figure out how to control them soon, to use to their own advantage. And then...

Before he could finish his train of thought, it was disturbed by someone else, smirking in the shadows as he gazed at them.

_"Well, well, well..."_  The voice trailed off, smirking once again before speaking. "So there is  _more_  than one person who has the mark of the Blood Warrior. I was expecting a Sir Therius, but Zesha, oh  _Zesha_..." Melodious laughter soared in the air, before the voice finished speaking. "My goodness, I never thought you would actually survive their attack. You looked so helpless, so  _pitiful..._ I just wanted to walk over there and kick you in the ribs for good measure to kill you-but  _no_ , I wanted them to _feast_  on you alive..."

Zesha's hands balled into fists, and he turned to face the intruder with rage searing his eyes.

_"Shut the hell up-"_  Therius nearly did a double-take, as he never thought Zesha would ever swear- "And... _why_  can't you just leave me alone? Haven't you had enough of torturing me with the suffering of my own people?!"

A man slowly sauntered towards them, pushing a few locks of dark brown hair out of his face. He wore a black coat, the hood down, and his skin was a light shade of olive. He also wore gloves that easily matched the coat, and a smirk was on his face, full of some sort of hauteur that he didn't dare to hide from anyone.

"Well," The man spoke, just as Therius took out his sword and pointed it at him, as well as Zesha, who took out both the East Wing and West Wing, "You two are so quick to start a fight, aren't you? I'm not in the mood for fights-fights don't  _truly_  suit me..."

"And you say this after you go and _tear apart_  the Gurak Continent?" Therius questioned, keeping his sword raised.

The man let out a groan. "Come on, aren't going to ask for my name? I thought introductions are important here.."

"I know your name too well,  _Cassius._  You told me when you broke into the castle not to ever forget it." Zesha snapped back, glaring at him.

Cassius merely let out a laugh, before he spoke again, crossing his arms. "How about we play a game, Lord Zesha? The prize is none other than a precious friend of yours." He snapped his fingers, and a hazy image slowly formed beside him.

In the image, Mirania was in a cage.

_"Miss Mirania!"_  Therius bit his lower lip, a glare focused on Cassius. "What have you done to her?"

Cassius blinked, his head tilted to the side for a moment as he spoke. "Oh, nothing. At least, for now." He smirked. "But, of course, this is a game. If you win, she'll be freed. If I win..." He waved his arm, causing the image to disappear. "She'll be the next  _meal_  for the Blood Creatures that I control." As if on cue, several Blood creatures appeared, coiling about him protectively. Cassius smirked. "Are you ready to play, Sir Therius and Lord Zesha? Hm?"

Therius heard Zesha curse under his breath.

"We have  _no_  choice but to play along..."

Therius nodded in agreement, before turning towards Cassius again.

_"Fine."_  The white knight spoke bitterly, lowering his sword a bit. "What is this game that you speak of?"

The older man let out a chuckle, pushing a few locks of hair back with one hand as he spoke. "It's easy, really. Just find Mirania, and defeat me as well. Of course, I've got some others that you'll have to fight through to get to her. And this castle..." He chuckled a little bit. "This castle will be, ahem, a bit  _harder_  to navigate than usual."

"What?"

The other let out a laugh, before he snapped his fingers again. "You'll see, Sir Therius, that Lazulis Castle  _won't_  be the same after this!  _Area Illusion!"_

A reddish glow emanated from his body, before it spread out all around him. Therius and Zesha both felt a harsh wind strike them, nearly sending them to the ground. The red mist continued to spread, devouring the castle around them and blinding their eyes with nothing but red. The two tried to wave the mist out of their faces, but the efforts were in vain-for a few moments.

When the mist finally cleared, Lazulis Castle did not look the same. That was the easy way of putting it in terms of its appearance. It was as if someone had broken up the entire castle into a gigantic puzzle, and unsuccessfully put it back together. Too many towers were sticking out of one corner, the doors to the courtyard had increased, and even the fountain in the middle of the courtyard looked like a horribly-done jigsaw puzzle, water spilling out of the fountain bowl and onto the ground.

The two exchanged glances, before turning to where Cassius was-only to realize that he was already gone.

_"The game starts now, gentlemen."_ They heard Cassius hiss out of nowhere.  _"Play the game. Find your friend. Defeat the foes. Even if you defeat the others...I doubt you'll be able to beat me."_

"We'll see about that." Zesha snapped, looking around.

Cassius merely chuckled again.  _"Yes, yes, Zesha...we'll see."_

He didn't speak again after that.

Zesha hesitated, before he turned towards Therius.

"Do you believe we should stick together in this place? I don't think going separate ways to find Mirania will be any good in this case..."

Therius nodded quickly, looking around. "I believe so. We have to be careful-who knows what Cassius may have set up for us?"


	6. Friend

"Where could they be holding Miss Mirania…?"

It had been at least a little time since Therius and Zesha started their search for Cassius and Mirania. The white knight had gone to the effort of trying to summon the Blood Creatures to appear, but they hadn't appeared at all.

"Cassius muted our abilities." Therius muttered under his breath as he looked around. "And judging by what he is able to do to the castle, as well threatening to command Blood Creatures to feast on Miss Mirania if we do not find her in time, he likely bears the same powers as we recently obtained, and possibly more."

" _More_  power?" Zesha repeated. He groaned slightly at this, gazing around to try to get an idea of their new surroundings, but it seemed to be slowly, but constantly, shifting around them. "I do not find this pleasant at all."

" _I don't want to hurt her!_  Please don't…don't make me hurt my niece.  _Please don't!"_

The deep voice, filled with grief, threw off both of them, but Therius recognized the voice.

"Count Arganan." He whispered under his breath. The two looked to each other before rushing down the hallway.

* * *

Calista wasn't sure if she could believe her own eyes. First the castle had been completely reconfigurated, by magic most likely, and now this.

Her own uncle, splattered in blood almost like how she and Zael found Therius, holding his own head in both hands and crying out in agony. She'd wanted to get closer to him, get near him and maybe hold him despite all the wrongs he'd done to her in the past, but he told her, right on first sight, not to touch him.

That something was controlling him.

Someone was controlling him.

And then the Blood Creatures appeared and blocked her. Calista tried to use her magic, tried to fight back, and then they literally pushed her back with their taloned hands, hissing and shrieking. Zael pointed his sword at them, the Outsider's mark glowing, but they all seemed unaffected, hissing at them.

"Calista, get behind me," Zael warned. "I'll try to ward them off and—"

" _Stop it."_

Her uncle's voice resounded through the room, and the creatures turned to face Arganan, who was trying to take a few deep breaths, presumably to calm himself.

"Just…stop." He repeated.  _"None of you_  are harming my niece or her husband. Is that understood?"

The Blood Creatures seemed to pause at once, before they all retreated back to him. Calista saw a glowing red mark on her uncle's right hand, just like Therius' own, but there were flecks of blue shining from the mark, too.

"Count Arganan." Zael lowered his sword slightly, but didn't put it away just in case.

"Uncle…" Calista took a deep breath, taking a step forward, but he held up his arm and shook his head.

"No." He spoke. His voice was softer now, but it was still audible enough for Calista to hear from this distance. "Don't come closer, Calista. I don't want to hurt you. I don't know what I'm capable of, and I am fucking  _terrified_  of hurting you with…with whatever I'm doing."

She could hardly remember the last time she heard her uncle sound this shaken before. Even when he'd gone insane with power, there was this sense of balance and pride in his voice as he tried to grasp for power that he wasn't meant to wield.

And now he looked so afraid, so  _horrified._

What was she supposed to do? She didn't want to just stand there and do nothing.

Zael looked to Calista, and she looked to him.

"I'll handle this." She managed softly. "Just..stay back unless I really need help, okay?"

Zael seemed to hesitate, before nodding. "Okay." He managed, stepping back.

She took a deep breath, feeling her head swim slightly at the smell of all the fresh blood. "Uncle…I'm here. I'm not going to hurt you. You don't need to be afraid."

She saw him nod slightly, take a shaky breath, and then he looked into her eyes with his one working eye. She could still see the fear in his face, but he was trying to calm down.

"Uncle—"

"I'm alright." He muttered, looking up at her again. He took a few more deep breaths, before he spoke once more. "What about you? I'm…I'm more worried about you, Calista."

"I'm okay."

She knew it was a bit of an understatement. The very fact that the castle was suddenly changed around did not help, and neither did seeing her uncle doused in all this blood. But she tried, despite all that, to stay as calm as she could.

"I'm alright, uncle. I'm alright." She repeated, continuing to take a few more slow steps towards him at a time. None of the Blood Creatures seemed to be reacting. If anything, they were pulling back, as if giving them both their privacy.

He smiled. It was weak, but it was genuine and present, for once. She couldn't remember the last time she ever saw him smile like that.

"I…I'm glad."

Taking another deep breath, he looked to her quietly. Confusion seemed to cross his face, looking down at himself, then at her, and then he hesitantly took a step forward. Some of the Blood Creatures seemed to watch them quietly from the sidelines, and one or two of them helped to guide him towards her.

She could smell all the blood and she couldn't help but gag at the metallic taste its scent left in her mouth. She saw her uncle wince slightly, before chuckling slightly, looking to her.

"I….I'm just glad you're here." He whispered.

She smiled back at him softly, to try to reassure him. "I'm glad you're here, too."

And when he hugged her tightly, despite what happened between them in the past and how horrible the scent of all the blood was and that it was probably staining her clothes and hair, she hugged him back.

She kept holding him until Sir Therius and Zesha stumbled over to her to see them embracing.

* * *

"General?"

Asthar looked to Mirania, who was still stuck in the cage he'd locked her up in.

"Miss Mirania." A slow breath escaped him as he wiped some blood off his cheek. "I truly did not want to do this. Nor did Cassius inform me that he was going to use you for a possible feeding ground for the Blood Creatures if Sir Therius and Lord Zesha do not reach you in time. Forgive me."

The nature mage frowned, seeing the regret in his eyes. She'd never seen the General seem so forlorn before. She'd seen him be astounded by the research they'd done together in the past, and shocked—a sad sort of shocked, and how much the land decayed in the past because of the Outsider's power.

But seeing him now, after being forced to lock her up—

"It's not your fault." She managed quietly, looking up at him. "You didn't choose this."

She heard him chuckle grimly, looking to her.

"Miss Mirania," He managed, voice hollow, "You don't know everything about this. I don't really know, either. I—"

That was when one of the Blood creatures hissed, and a few of them went up to Mirania's cage. Asthar growled, taking out his sword and pointing it at them.

"There is still time." He told them sternly, the mark of a Blood Warrior glowing briefly on his neck. "Step back."

They obeyed. He took a deep breath, putting his sword away.

"Mirania!?"

Asthar turned to see none other than Therius rush into the room, and he looked to his pupil. He chuckled slightly, seeing Therius' emerald eyes widen.

"General—"

" _I'm sorry."_

His voice came out cracked, and Therius could feel something that he'd never really seen in his mentor.

Fear.

It was fear he saw in him. Both the General and his pupil just stared at each other. Neither one wanted to make a move.

Zesha, however, did. He took a step towards Mirania, only for the Blood Creatures to hiss.

" _That's enough!"_  Asthar turned, glaring right at them. "You will not be hostile to them.  _Listen_  to me."

The Blood Creatures all seemed to stare back at Asthar blankly, suddenly emotionless, before backing away. Mirania looked like she was about to speak when someone else did.

"So," Cassius' voice murmured, "You dare to disobey me, Asthar?"

Zesha made his way to the cage while Therius pointing his sword upwards a bit, looking around. "Where is that voice coming from?" He gritted his teeth. Where  _was_  this man!? "Do you plan to hide in the shadows like a coward?"

"Mm, well…" Cassius chuckled once more, and Therius almost thought it was soul-crushing.  _"Yes._  For today. I just wanted to see how you held yourself together, looking for your friend. The real battle will be later, Sir Therius."

A pained groan came from his left, and Therius turned to see Asthar falling to his knees.

"General!" He started to run over to him, but Asthar just vanished. It was all too sudden. This didn't make any sense. Therius heard Cassius' laughter, not echoing through the room but nearby, and he turned to point his sword at him.

"What did you do to him?" Mirania spoke. Her voice was raised more than usual, a slow glare showing on her face. Therius had never seen Mirania seem so angry. It was almost a frightening change from the usually calm nature mage.

"Took him back." Cassius managed nonchantly, resting a hand on his own hip as he looked up at them. He kept a small smirk on his face. "Well, considering you all found each other, perhaps I'll just take my leave."

Zesha growled, flinging a Bolt Arrow at the man, but Cassius seemed to simply vanish as well, almost instantly, and the Bolt Arrow instead hit the wall behind where Cassius once stood, vanishing after it made impact.

"Damn it!" Zesha prepared to fling another Bolt Arrow, but Therius turned to him, shaking his head.

"Zesha, there's no—"

"No point?" The Gurak King interjected, a sharp glare directed right at him. "That man has taken all of my people hostage and I deserve to at the least give him a beating and throw him in prison for what he did, if not  _death."_

Zesha chuckled grimly, looking up to where Cassius once stood.

"The next time we see him, I will handle that one _alone."_


	7. Embrace Me

Arganan growled as he tried to scrub off as much blood as he could in the large pool with a measly piece of cloth. He was more than sure that his skin was red and raw underneath, but right now he didn't quite care. As long as the blood was off, it was good.

It was unfortunate indeed that Cassius had destroyed most of castle's living quarters with his 'Area Illusion' spell. This also meant that Arganan would have to use one of the more common bathing areas, which consisted of a bathing pool, towels and such, but nothing fancy. Nothing nice aesthetically compared to the private bathroom he had when he was Count, once upon a time. He sighed, continuing to scrub himself off as well as he could. He almost considered getting someone to drain this pool and refill it with fresh water, if they would be kind enough to.

The blood stained his vision for so long. If Calista wasn't there to help him calm down, he wasn't sure what would have happened. Would he have gone insane? Why was he _alive,_ even? He'd been killed by the Outsider, last time he remembered.

Oh. Right.  _The Blood Warrior power_ —whatever in the world this dastardly mark was. He gazed at the back of his right hand, frowning a little at the sight of it. It looked like some smudged, dark bloodstain that just wouldn't come off. And he doubted it would ever come off, too. Good thing he usually wore a glove on said right hand.

He didn't understand why he had this 'Blood Warrior' power or how he quite got it. All he remembered at first was some 'Cassius' talking to him, telling him to hurt his niece, and that he'd refused and managed to rebel against that man's voice in his head. Cassius had just dumped him afterwards with the others. Left him behind and fled.

Arganan wasn't surprised if the other saw him as a 'weak link.' Cassius, he supposed, hated rebellion, and probably thought him to be useless, hence leaving him behind. Speaking of rebellion, shouldn't  _Asthar_  be here, too? But he'd left with Cassius. He'd been compliant to  _Cassius'_  command. That didn't make any sense. Arganan never thought of the General as someone who would betray people. His loyalty was unwavering.

What happened so that it made Asthar cooperate with Cassius, then? What leverage would Cassius have for Asthar to obey him?

_Therius_  was a possible option, Arganan figured as he tried to wring his hair of some of the water.  _Maybe Cassius threatened to harm Therius and that's why Asthar obeys him. He does care for him very much. Therius is Asthar's pupil, after all._

He saw blood dripping from his wrung crimson red seemed to bloom like flowers on the tiled bathroom floor.

He winced at the sight. The blood was probably still in his hair, wasn't it? As far as he could tell, he probably had light red streaks in his hair that'd be impossible to remove, now.

At least he got most of it out, though. At least, he hoped he did.

"Count."

The voice seemed to hiss into his ear, soft and low, with just a  _slight_  sultriness to it. Arganan felt himself shiver at the familiar voice, whirling his head to the left to see who it was—

And there was no one.

Was he hallucinating? Thinking of old memories too much?

Perhaps it was both.

A sigh escaped him as he looked down at the light red bathwater ( _light red_  because of all the blood he was trying to wash off) and he turned to his right to grab a sponge, or cloth, or something that could help him scrub off the blood—

And a  _bloodied hand_  clamped onto his wrist, golden eyes gazing into his one working blue one.

Arganan gasped, trying to back up and pull away, but Dagran kept his firm grip on him, eyes trained on him. Blood dripped from several places on the younger man's body, most notably from  _a stab wound_  in the chest.

No.

There was a symbol there, now. And it clearly resembled the mark of the Blood Warrior.

The same mark that Zesha, Therius, Cassius, Asthar and Arganan himself had.

"You can't be real."

The words slipped faster from his mouth than he could think.

The younger man's lips curved into a smirk, leaning forwards to whisper in his ear.

"I assure you, sire," Dagran's warm voice, dripping like too sweet honey, wormed its way into his head, "I am  _certainly_  real."

There was a faint pause, and Arganan heard him take a soft breath, before he sensed the other start to pull away. But not before he kissed his cheek, the left cheek where it was scarred from events of long ago. The older man couldn't help but shiver slightly, and he heard Dagran chuckle.

"It's been too long." Dagran murmured, golden eyes gazing into his one good one. "It really _is_  too long since we were alone like this." He chuckled slightly at that. "You should relax a bit more, Count. It's just me."

Arganan gazed right back at him, unsure of what to say. He was aware that he and Dagran shared a… _intimate_  relationship prior to both their deaths. Physically intimate, at least, if not emotionally, but Arganan liked to think it was emotionally intimate at least from his half of said relationship.

Arganan had assumed Dagran was dead. He hadn't seen him with the others, and Zael and Calista informed him of his death after Cassius and Asthar fled.

But Asthar shouldn't be alive either, and he was alive. Arganan wasn't supposed to be alive, and he was alive.

So **why _not_ Dagran?**

But what if this really was…?

"Prove it." He whispered softly. "Prove it to me that you're real. Tell me," He gazed right back into Dagran's, eyes, "Tell me proof of how we first were together so intimately. Then I could believe you. How do I know you're not just an illusion messing with my head?"

Dagran's gaze appeared to falter, and he seemed to frown. "Are you saying you don't trust me?"

Arganan shook his head. "I'm not saying I don't trust you, Dagran, I just want to know I can trust myself to know that you're real and not a damned _illusion."_

He watched Dagran smile. It wasn't a calm, collected one though. It was almost sly, bordering on a smirk.

"The first night we were together," Dagran spoke, "was the night before the ball celebrating Calista and Jirall's engagement."

He leaned up close towards Arganan. The older man would have flinched and pulled back, if Dagran wasn't holding onto his wrist still.

"And you were practically  _blushing_  the whole time, too. You said you'd never  _done it_  before with anyone, let alone a man, a mercenary, so you let me take control."

Dagran kissed Arganan's cheek again, and Arganan instinctively shivered. Dagran being so close to him,  _alone_  like this—

_This_  felt so good. So right. So perfect.

**Too perfect.**

"You speak the truth." Arganan managed, seeing Dagran pull away from him slightly so he could look into the other's golden eyes. "That  _was_  what happened, back then."

"Good." Dagran flashed a smile, the smirk fading slightly. It was calmer now—

_"Do you trust me?"_

Arganan took a deep breath, closing his good eye for a moment, and then opened it quietly, watching some of the blood drip down Dagran's temple. Arganan raised his right hand to try to wipe it off with the cloth, but Dagran let his grip on Arganan's wrist tighten a bit, and Arganan blinked, dropping the cloth, sinking from the weight of the water dragging it down.

"Do you trust me?"

Did he have to repeat it  **again?**

"I do." Arganan managed, his good eye looking up from the cloth to Dagran. "I-I do trust you Dagran. I  _love_  you. I just—" He felt his voice catch in his throat, and his metal hand reached for Dagran, managed to wrap his metal arm about the other's waist. Dagran seemed to accommodate to the half-embrace, shifting closer to him, and Arganan heard him chuckle, gazing up at him with some sickeningly sweet gaze.

"Did you truly think," Dagran started, "That I'd be passed over by a Blood Warrior's mark? If you and Asthar came back to life—" He shrugged a bit, "Why not me?"

Argaann hesitated, before nodding once.

"I…I thought so. I never saw you, though." He admitted. "Not until now, that is. Why are you—?"

_What if—?_

Arganan let go of him, and strength seemed to renew itself in his right arm as he pulled out of Dagran's grasp, the water splashing over the edges of the bathing pool and slapping onto the tiled floor, slight red of washed-off blood mixing with the white tiles. "Did Cassius—"

"Him? Oh _, no."_  Arganan heard Dagran laugh. "I came to see you of my own accord. You _do_  miss me, don't you?"

"I do," Arganan found himself saying. "I do miss you, Dagran. I missed you on the day I died."

He saw Dagran freeze, for a moment, his expression flickering, and then slowly muting itself back to a more stoic expression. Or was that a hollowed sadness in his eyes?

"I missed you on the day I died, too."

Dagran's voice came out a bit softer at that. He almost sounded reluctant to say it, and Arganan wondered if the younger man simply wasn't that open to people so often. Perhaps it was so. Perhaps it was something else. Maybe he shouldn't mull on that for much longer. He didn't know.

"I—"

Arganan thought back to his own death, and then tried to block out  _Mitra_  from his head. He shivered, and it wasn't from the bath water getting cold.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, Dagran."

He heard the other chuckle grimly, and his hand cupped Arganan's scarred cheek.

"It doesn't matter now. That's the past." Dagran used his hand to tilt Arganan's chin upward a bit so they were keeping eye contact. "We can be together again, like this."

"How?" The other questioned. Arganan kept his gaze with Dagran. He didn't understand. "How do I do that? Accept you back again?"

"Isn't that obvious?" The other gave him a slight look, his hand still cupping the other's cheek, fingers smearing more blood on it. Arganan nearly reeled at the rusty-iron scent, but forced himself to breathe, steeling his gaze into Dagran's eyes as the younger man continued speaking. "Accepting me coming back to you is one thing, but there is also something else. The Blood Warrior's mark. Its powers haven't quite worked well with you, as far as I overheard from everyone else talking. But that's because you haven't accepted them. Haven't embraced them."

_What?_

Why was Dagran bringing this up now?

"What do you mean?"

Arganan heard his own voice echo through the room, and Dagran seemed to simply smile.

"All you need to do," The younger man murmured, his breath too hot against Arganan's skin— _slick with blood and water_ — "Is to  _embrace_  your power. Then we can truly be together."

Arganan frowned at that. "Embrace my power?" He repeated. "You…don't mean—"

"I  _do_  mean that." Dagran leaned against him, and Arganan soon realized he was pressed up against the side of the pool behind him, Dagran practically twining himself about the older man in front. The older man gazed at the other softly, watching him do just that, with nearly no resistance.

"Wasn't this what you always wanted?"

Dagran's voice easily echoed off the tiles, and even more so.

"To have power? To have  **me?**  That's what you've always wanted, isn't it?"

Arganan wrapped his arms about Dagran, trying to support the other so that if Dagran were to lean back slightly, he wouldn't fall backwards. He shuddered at the closeness of their beings—they were practically chest to chest. Arganan could feel the blood dripping from Dagran's own skin still, the redness beginning to darken the water a bit more.

"Yes." Arganan closed his eye for a moment, only to open it and gaze into Dagran's own eyes. "Yes, I wanted this. I still want this."

He saw the other smirk softly and lean forwards, his breath ghosting itself at Arganan's lips.

"Embrace your power, then. Embrace  _me."_

* * *

"Count Arganan!?"

Arganan gasped, jolting forwards and realizing he was alone in the bath. The water was much darker, a deep red, and he looked up from the water to see none other than Sir Therius.

"I heard your voice." Therius started, the white knight fully clothed and walking around the bathing pool to try to reach him without getting too much water splashed on him. "You sounded almost panicked. Are you alright?"

"Panicked? I—" Arganan looked around him.

Someone was missing.

"Dagran was just here."

The words came out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"Wait…what?" Therius looked around. Confusion crossed his face. "Dagran was here? Count, you're the only one here in this room other than me."

"No—" Arganan nearly stood up in the bath, grabbing a nearby towel to wrap about his waist. "Dagran  _was_ here. I saw him, Therius! He was just  _here,_  and—and—" He climbed out of the pool himself, shivering as he felt the cold air swirl around whatever skin wasn't covered by the towel.  _"He was here!"_

"Count, calm down." Therius spoke, voice weak, and he felt Therius' hand gently rest on his shoulder.

Arganan shook his head, shrugging off Therius' hand. "I can't just calm down, Therius. It doesn't—It doesn't  _work_  like that!"

His voice came out sharper than he intended, and Arganan winced. That had been the same use of voice he had in the past, whenever he took out his rage on Calista.

"I—" Arganan looked down, closing his good eye. Shit. He didn't want to fuck things up again like last time. "I'm sorry."

Therius seemed to falter, his hand hesitantly touching Arganan's shoulder.

"It's alright." Therius managed in response, and Arganan looked up at him, taking another deep breath and trying to ignore the smell of water, blood and soap. He knew Dagran had to be here. He was here. He felt him, heard him, saw him….

And now he wasn't here.

Therius managed to coax him out of the bath, telling him he'd draw a new one so that Arganan could properly wash himself off. That Arganan had a point—if Arganan was alive _, why not_ _ **Dagran?**_

But even as Arganan got back into the not-so-bloodstained water again to properly clean himself this time, he felt miserable that Dagran  _didn't_  reappear beside him, even once he was left alone again.

In the shadows, Dagran smiled, having reclothed himself from earlier, and vanished.


	8. Keeping Count

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone tries to keep count of how many people have the power of the Blood Warrior. Mirania, however, is more concerned about why the Blood Creatures keep leading her to Zesha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, it’s been such a long time since I updated this fic. I think about two years? However, I am back and ready to continue and finish this fic! I hope you all enjoy this new chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! XD

"Let me get this straight." Calista stared right at Therius and her uncle. "You saw  _Dagran?"_

"Yes." Arganan ran a hand through his own wavy hair, and Therius noticed the streak of red in the older man's hair. It reminded him of the bloody mark still in his own forehead, above his eye, and he wondered if all the 'Blood Warriors' created all shared this same mark. "I saw him. He…he got revived into being one of the people with the mark, like me and Asthar."

"I see." The Countess of Lazulis bit her lower lip, frowned, then brushed a strand of platinum hair out of her face. "Well, at this point, the least we can do is try to keep track of how many people with the mark of the Blood Warrior exist."

"There is me," Therius started, "And General Asthar. Zesha, too. And…" He looked to Arganan, unsure of how to address him, but arganan sighed.

"Just…call me by last name."

"Arganan." Therius finished. It felt awkward, knowing the former Count of Lazulis was in the same room as his niece, who was the new Countess. "Arganan is one, too, as well as Dagran. That makes….five of us."

"We have to add that Cassius, too." Zael approached the three, moving to stand by Calista's side. The sole wielder of the Outsider swallowed, fists clenched at his sides. Therius wasn't sure if he'd ever seen the man look so uncomfortable before. "He could've killed us with his power."

"He's probably more experienced than the rest of us." Therius stated. Emerald eyes flicked from the former Count to the wielder of the Outsider. "That's why he could pull off a spell such as 'Area Illusion.' The likelihood is that he's had the power much longer than us, or has someone to teach him with his skills. Or both."

"Both options sound very likely." Arganan huffed, resting his free hand on his waist. His other hand clutched his cane, the grip on it tightening. "So, how do we get rid of this man? Kill him?"

Therius, Zael and Calista gave him a look. Arganan blinked. "What? It's worth trying, especially if he tried to kill us first."

"There has to be another way than just killing him, Uncle." Calista raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "Can't we just…I don't know, what to do with him—at the very least, we have to subdue him. He may be powerful, but he can't be that smart if you were able to fight back against his commands."

The former Count swallowed, lips twisting, and Therius and Zael did not comment on this. Calista was in control now, and from the glint in her eyes, she relished having that over her uncle right now. Therius didn't blame her—he remembered hearing hushed whispers of the past abuse and restriction that Arganan put on her, before Arganan died.

"Calista has a point," Zael finally managed. "If we keep Cassius alive, maybe we can get him to tell us more about the Blood Warrior's mark and its powers, as well as what he's doing with General Asthar."

"That is true." Therius looked to Zael, then the Count. "Speaking of the General, it makes me wonder why he sided with them. Why not resist their commands like you did, Count?"

Arganan shook his head. "I…I don't know, Therius. All I remember is Cassius commanding me, all the blood—" He shut his good eye, then sideglanced towards nothing, "I…I don't recall  _ever_ communicating with Asthar or seeing him."

"So you were recently revived, then."

"That's all I remember up until Calista found me, so that's probably it." Arganan averted his gaze from Therius, at the last part. The white knight took a moment to process the new information, then decide not to press any further. At least, for now. Clearly, the Count was still shaken up from his encounter with Dagran.

"Asthar must've been revived before the Count," Zael started, then corrected, "Former Count, I mean. Cassius could've done anything to Asthar, especially if he's more powerful than him—and I bet Dagran was revived before Arganan, too."

"He said I should embrace my power." Arganan muttered, opening his good eye and looking to Zael. "But what does he mean by that?"

"Mirania is doing research right now, as well as Yurick." Calista managed. She leaned on one foot, then shifted her weight to the other one. "They might find something." She looked to Zael. "We should double the guards we have on watch, in case Cassius suddenly appears again like that."

Zael nodded. "Sounds good. I'll notify the other knights." With that, he quickly left, but not before pressing a kiss to Calista's cheek. As the office doors closed behind him, Therius, Calista and Arganan were left alone.

"Do we just wait?" The former Count's voice grew crisp and low. "Is that it? Just…sitting ducks until we find new information or until Cassius pops in again?"

"Rushing things doesn't always work." Calista shot him another look. "That led to your death, last time."

Therius shook his head, looking from the former Count to the Countess. "I understand we have to be patient, Lady Calista, but we need to work together…even if we don't necessarily get along."

Calista's blue eyes flashed at Therius, and the white knight swallowed, fearing a tongue-lashing. However, Calista simply sighed instead, clasping both her hands together.

"You're right. We have to."

* * *

"Zesha? Lord Zesha?"

Zesha's head snapped up from the book in his hands, blinking at the sight of Mirania standing in front of him.

"You." He paused, before speaking. "What is it?"

"The Blood Creatures, uh.." Mirania gestured to a few Blood Creatures, floating beside her, "They kind of dragged me all the way to see you."

Zesha grimaced at the sight of the Blood Creatures, their humanoid forms dripping blood onto the floor. Hopefully they didn't stain any books by accident. "Literally?"

"Yes." The nature mage frowned, pushing a strand of raven hair out of her face. "They did the same thing when luring me to General Asthar. But ever since then, they just keep…dragging me to you."

"I see." Zesha looked to the Blood Creatures, then to Mirania. The Blood Creatures purred, wide eyes looking from Mirania to Zesha, then back to Mirania again. "Perhaps the Blood Creatures sense that I am familiar with you."

"But if htat's the case," The nature mage managed, head tilting, "Why are they dragging just me to you? Why not Yurick? I'm sure they're strong enough to drag him up the ladder."

Both the nature mage and Yurick had, earlier, entered the Lazulis Castle library to do more research on the Blood Warrior and the Blood Creatures. Zesha ended up joining them, only for him to go upstairs and search for anything that might be useful.

The Gurak King blanched. "Please don't tell me they literally dragged you up here." He glared at the Blood Creatures. "That is not nice. Don't do that again!"

The Blood Creatures faintly whined at that, and Mirania chuckled. "No, don't worry, they didn't do that. They let me climb up the ladder on my own first."

"Good." Zesha then paused, then bit his lower lip. "…Do you remember?"

Mirania looked to him, frowning faintly. "Remember what?"

"When we battled." Zesha's voice lowered as he put the book in his hands away, but still faced her. "When I fell, you…tended to my worst of wounds when the others weren't looking."

Mirania stilled at that. She thought back to that battle. How Syrenne cried over the then-dying Lowell. How they all yelled for Zael to run ahead and stop Zangurak's plans while they held Zesha locked in battle.

Despite it being quite some time, since that battle, the pain of that still  _hurt._

"It's because of you that I lived." Zesha's voice stayed low, his eyes looking into hers. "You tended to me, despite my being an enemy. When no one else was looking."

Mirania returned his gaze, swallowing.

"I couldn't just let you die." She started. "It…didn't seem right."

"Didn't seem right?" He echoed. His confusion matched hers. "You killed many of my own people, including my own brother and the late Lord Zangurak, and yet killing  _me_ didn't seem right to you?"

"Zesha," Mirania's eyes widened, "I didn't mean it lik—"

" _King_  Zesha." He corrected, eyes darkening. "I am King. I have my people to save, back in the Gurak Continent, because they were conquered by people that bear the Blood Warrior's mark like that foolish Cassius." His voice trembled, faintly, teeth gritting. "I will not let that stand."

"King Zesha." Mirania inhaled deeply, then exhaled. "I won't let that stand either."

"Prove it to me, then." He practically spat those words out of his mouth. "Help me save my people."

It was a challenge. She knew he didn't expect her to help him. She didn't blame him, because he was right. She did assist, in her way, in murdering many of his own people back in the war between the Gurak and Lazulis. It was no wonder that he was angry, and no wonder that he was so bitter despite working with her and the others against Cassius.

She took another deep breath, locked eyes with him, and made her decision.

"I will."


	9. Vengeance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassius comes back, but Zesha is ready for vengeance this time around.

Yurick's scream shattered the silent atmosphere around the nature mage and the Gurak King.

"Yurick!?" Mirania rushed to the railing, to look over it and hopefully spot the fire mage down below. "What's going on?!"

Yurick, below, ducked past a Blood Creature snarling at him, bloody claws trying to grab him. The fire mage shot a fire spell at it, but it dodged. Thankfully, said spell disappeared before it could hit any bookshelves, or else the library would be up in flames.

"Blood Creatures!" Yurick managed, rushing to the ladder in the hopes of climbing up. The Blood Creature hissed more at his attempt to escape, trying to grab him, and Zesha growled as he joined Mirania at the railing.

"Cease this at once!" Zesha snapped, glaring right at the Blood Creature. He had the Blood Warrior's power, surely it should obey him! "I command you!"

A low laugh behind him made his blood grow cold, and Zesha slowly, hesitantly, turned to see who it was.

_Cassius_  stood there, taking one step towards him as he lowered his hands to his sides.

"They won't obey you, Lord Zesha." He smirked, giving him the mockery of a bow. "I have the upper hand.  _I_  have more experience than you ever will get. And you…"

He snapped his fingers, and a scream from Yurick made Zesha and MIrania look to the ladder, Yurick clinging onto it tightly as the Blood Creatures' claws latched into his ankles. They pulled, and he held, but he didn't look like he'd last long.

"You're all going to die."

"Let go of him!" Mirania glared towards Cassius, one of her hands glowing with the green forest magic she knew too well. "He hasn't done anything to you!"

"He'll be the Blood Creatures' next feeding source—"

Mirania couldn't stand it for any longer, and blasted the man in the chest with her magic. Cassius went flying, hitting a bookshelf behind him. As he crumpled to the ground, the whole bookshelf fell on him, eliciting another yelp from his lips.

"You are not making any of my friends a feeding source for your Blood Creatures, Cassius! I won't stand it!"

Zesha saw something light up in Mirania's eyes, and it took him a moment to realize what it was—

Rage. Pure, raw, and real  _rage_  flickered in the nature mage's gaze as she looked to Cassius. Zesha couldn't focus on that forever, however, overhearing Yurick scream. As he looked to the ladder again, he saw that Yurick only had one hand on the ladder's rungs. Two Blood Creatures were trying to pull him away, having grabbed him by the ankles. The sight would've been ridiculously amusing if not for the blood dripping onto the fire mage from the Blood Creatures' own bodies.

"Cease this at once." Zesha stared down the Blood Creatures grappling onto Yurick.  _"Let him go._   **Now."**

The Blood Creatures all stared up at him, wide eyed, before they all let go of Yurick at once. The fire mage grunted as his legs swung to hit the ladder he clung onto, and he took it as a hint to quickly climb up the ladder and join Mirania and Zesha.

"You!" Cassius growled, emerging from the fallen bookshelf, the wreckage. "You won't get away with this!"

His eyes glowed a bright red, before he raised a hand in front of him. The Blood Creatures hissed, their eyes glowing red in response, and Yurick cringed.

"Uh, guys? Do you think we should…?"

The Blood Creatures hissed as Cassius gestured with a hand, and Mirania's eyes widened, losing the rage.

" _Run!"_

* * *

Zesha, Mirania and Yurick were still on the upper floor of the library. It would take them too long to just go down the ladder. So, running through the upper floor of the library and hopefully finding an exit other than the main one downstairs was the best they could do!

Zesha cursed himself as he, Mirania and Yurick ran, the Gurak King taking out one of his two swords to slash at one of the Blood Creatures lunging at them, only for Mirania to blast another one away with nature magic.

"Can't you do something!?" Yurick yelped, stabbing one Blood Creature with a dagger before kicking it away. He didn't want to set the library ablaze with fire magic and make the situation worse than it already was. "You're the Blood Warrior!"

"I didn't get exactly get to finish my research!" Zesha glared daggers at him, and would have killed him if they weren't working together right now. "Especially not with Cassius interfering!"

Yurick scowled, but turned his attention to Mirania. "Do you know if there's an exit up here!?"

"Not that I remember!" The nature mage yelled back. Before she could cast another nature spell, bloody red streak hit her, and she went flying into a nearby bookshelf.

"Mirania!" Yurick ran to her, but another bloody red streak sent him flying. He ended up hitting one of the various tables and chairs upstairs, meant for reading at, and he slumped to the floor. Zesha looked to the Blood Creatures approaching, glaring at them as he took out a second sword in case they attacked, but….they didn't.

Laughter resounded from behind him, and Zesha turned, holding up his sword just in time to block the blade of a bloodied sword in Cassius' hand. The man smirked at him, his spare hand glowing red, and Zesha didn't have enough time to dodge the attack. He, too, hit the ground seconds after being hit with the magic attack. One of his wrists cracked, on impact, and a yelp escaped the Gurak King as the sword flew out of his hands. He did his best to use his other hand, to get up, but that was when Cassius kicked him, and he coughed, laying back onto the ground.

Cassius hovered above him, sword pointed at him.

"How sad." The other man taunted. "About to die at the hands of a human, just like your brother."

**That** did it. Zesha glared at him, sideglancing and noticing a sword that was within the reach of his good hand, and he grabbed the sword, swiftly knocking the other's sword out of his hands with a hard swipe.

"Don't you dare speak of my brother, human! I refuse to fall to you!"

Zesha got to his feet, and before Cassius could run to pick up his own sword, Zesha stabbed him.

And he stabbed him again.

And again.

And  **again.**

He kept stabbing, ribbons of blood flowing from Cassius' wounds, but Zesha kept making more of them. He refused to fall to a pathetic human such as this, especially not twice.

He refused to lose.

He refused to fall, ever. Never again would he fall to this man, and Zesha would make sure of it.

Cassius shuddered and groaned under him as Zesha shoved him to the ground with his elbow, kicked him, and stabbed even more. All that mattered was making sure the man got exactly what he deser—

* * *

Mirania's eyes widened as she got to her feet, witnessing the Gurak King stab Cassius repeatedly.

There was so much blood. Too much blood. Just..

It was all  _too much._

"Zesha, stop!" Mirania grabbed the Gurak King by the shoulder, pulling him back, "He's already close to dead!"

"You—" Zesha looked to her, eyes glazed over with rage, but dumbfoundedness broke into them. "What?"

Had he been so caught up in killing Cassius that he didn't realize what he was doing? It made Mirania wonder about how bloodthirsty the Gurak King really was, but she didn't get to wonder for long.

A cough came from Cassius down below, and Zesha looked to the man on the floor, saw Cassius still spitting up blood. A nasty grin remained on Cassius' face, despite the injuries, and a pathetic laugh followed it.

"You…" Cassius gasped, grunted, but Zesha knew the numerous stab wounds he gave him wouldn't help him live. "You…you're doomed."

Zesha shook his head, looking the other man in the eye, inhaling deeply. He leaned down, close enough to whisper in the other man's ear, and he couldn't help but chuckle.

"No, human.  _You're_  the one that's doomed."

Sweet vengeance was his, for the defeat Cassius gave him back at the Gurak Continent, and Zesha dedicated this soon-coming death to his own people. This was only one step towards getting vengeance on the ones that took his throne, and he'd take it.

As Zesha pulled away from the other, Cassius took one final breath, a light fading in his eyes. His body grew slack, blood still trickling from his numerous wounds, and the Blood Creatures all floated towards him. Zesha heard whispers, but could not hear what they actually said, if they were saying words.

One of the Blood Creatures' eyes glowed a bright red. Another one followed, doing the same thing, then another.

"What the…" Yurick, who just got up from where he lay, watched the other Blood Creatures' eyes glow. "What is this…? The devouring of the victims…?"

Mirania shook her head, looking to Yurick. "No, I read it in one of the books just earlier. This is…"

Cassius' body suddenly  _melted,_ for lack of better words. The skin grew red, dissolving together with his eyes and hair and all the rest of him laying on the floor, bleeding and blending together until it became a mass of nothing but blood. It was like some giant blood clot was there, trying to form a scab over a wound, but instead of browning and solidifying, it collapsed completely into a pool of blood. Zesha stepped away quickly, trying to avoid getting Cassius' blood on his feet, but the bloody pool followed him, tracing a circle around him.

Zesha looked around himself, watched how the pool traced a circle. He then looked up at the Blood Creatures, saw how their eyes glowed even brighter, and walls of blood rose around him.

* * *

**Screaming**  invaded his ears, and Zesha hissed, covering his eyes as best as he could. The effort was fruitless, the screaming still loud as before, and a multitude of hissing and speaking resounded around him.

_Blood Warrior…._

… _has fallen…_

_Powers are yours…_

_Use them_ _**wisely.** _

Zesha shut his eyes, clamped his hands even harder around his ears as the voices rose, a crescendo of screaming, and then—

And then it stopped.

* * *

Zesha blinked, stared down. There was no blood on the floor anymore.

But there was blood _all over him._  He felt it on his hands, his face, soaking his armor and his body beneath it. He stared at himself, then looked to Yurick and Mirania.

"What…" Zesha coughed, throat dry, "What happened?"

Yurick looked ready to puke, given the amount of blood. Zesha didn't blame him for that. Mirania, however, looked much more steady and less like being about to vomit, thank goodness. Her widening eyes and paling expression, however, made the Gurak King wonder if she was about to faint.

She didn't faint, but she spoke, slowly.

"I…I think you just inherited his power, Zesha."

Her voice was so low that he wasn't sure if he got all of what she said, but he looked down at himself again, looked at the spot where Cassius once was, and then up at her again, processing her words.

"I  _what?"_

* * *

"He's fallen."

Ulrica stood, looking to the taller cloaked one. She sighed, running a hand through her hair, before speaking.

"You should have sent me instead. Now that damned Zesha has his power! I could have easily slain him!"

"And now the former Count Arganan has joined their side." The taller one frowned from under their hood, but then spoke. "However…we still have two assets. Asthar, for one."

"What's the other?"

The taller one smiled.

"You'll see."


	10. Please

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassius may be dead, but no one is out of the woods quite yet—especially not Arganan, who has good reason to fear for his life.

"Let me get this straight."

Therius inhaled sharply, turning to a still-blood-covered Zesha, a still trembling Yurick, and a very quiet Mirania. Zael and Calista were also present, having been alerted to what just happened over an hour ago.

"Cassius tried to kill all of you, Zesha defeated him and…" He made eye contact with the Gurak King, unable to hide the frown, "You absorbed his power?"

"It seems so." The Gurak King responded, sighing faintly. He ran a hand through his damp hair, only to grimace and remember that he was still covered in blood. "Before we continue any further, can I  _at least_  get a bath?"

The white knight offered him a sympathetic grimace. "Er…sure. Take your time."

"Thank you." Zesha muttered, bitter, before leaving the library to do just that. As the library doors banged shut behind him, Therius looked to Yurick and Mirania, swallowing.

"Mirania, Yurick….did either of you find any information on the Blood Creatures or the power struggle for the Blood Warrior, before Cassius came in?"

Yurick shook his head. "I didn't find much, unfortunately. Mirania?"

"Yeah." Mirania looked around, before picking up a book from a nearby table. "It was this one. There was something key about the power struggle…" Flipping through the pages, she did her best not to think of how brutal Cassius' murder was. Enemy or not, Mirania  _hated_  that he had to die like that.

Then again, was she any better for letting Zepha get killed? For everyone that died in the past war getting killed?

No, they'd been trying to do the right thing…right…?

"Mirania?"

She looked up from her book to see Zael waving a hand in front of her face. "You look really pale. You okay?"

"Yeah." She lied. "I'm fine." She found the page she needed, before showing the book to Calista and Zael. "It mentioned something about absorbing others' powers…by killing them. Zesha did exactly that."

"So I guess whoever has the most power is the Blood Warrior." Yurick managed.

Calista could only sigh at this, shaking her head. "I still remember how Uncle was overpowered with the Outsider…he died, because of that."

"Calista…" Zael looked to her, frowning, "But he's back now. Because of the Blood Warrior's power."

"What if he ends up going mad with that power, Zael?"

"I don't think—"

"He  _will,_  I just know it!"

"Speaking of your Uncle," Yurick interjected, "Where is he?"

Calista went silent at that, and Mirania swallowed.

"If Cassius was here," She managed, "What if one of his allies also is?"

One of the Lazulis knights burst in, panting. "Lady Calista! We have an intruder in the Military Wing!"

* * *

The former Count panted as he slammed a door behind him. He couldn't remember how the hell he managed to run this much so far, but he knew he had to keep running. Looking around, he soon realized he was in the Turret Control room, in the military wing. Other Lazulis Knights had seen the intruder that just came in, out of nowhere, and tried to take down who it was but…

They just got knocked aside, killed and  _feasted_ on alive. Their screams echoed behind the door, and Arganan cursed himself for being unable to do anything.

How the hell was he supposed to know how his power worked in such a short time? Should he have went with Zesha and Mirania to the library, earlier, instead of staying back and arguing with Calista in her office? Probably would work better that way, he figured. He was a bookworm, not a master of arguing.

And then, after leaving her office,  _that_ figure appeared. He knew too well at the time who it was, and he knew they were power—

A burst of blood shattered the upper half of the door, and Arganan shrieked, moving away from it. He tried to focus on what little magic he had, to try to blast back at the attacker, but then the rest of the door was blasted with another column of blood, sending it across the room.

The former Count took out his sword, pointing it at the new figure that walked in—a little girl.

But he knew this little girl wasn't just some girl.

Oh, no, she wasn't.

He saw her smile, before blood rose around her. As it fell back down, she'd transformed into a woman, clothed in bloodstained armour and wielding a shortsword.

"There you are~" She laughed, twirling the blade in her hand. "I've been looking for you,Count~!"

"Stay the hell away, Ulrica!" He barked back, but it came out weaker than he hoped. He kept the sword pointed, despite a shaky hand. "You and your little friends have done enough!"

"Enough?" She raised an eyebrow. "We've only just begun! Blood Creatures, take him!"

A swarm of Blood Creatures wailed and rushed at Arganan. He immediately broke into a run, and despite his hip screaming from all the running he'd done on one metal leg, he knew he couldn't stop.

If he stopped running, he'd be dead.

* * *

Therius rushed into the Turret Control room to find Blood Creatures dragging various Lazulis Knights to their sides, to eat and consume them.

He couldn't let them die. Not like this. He was the Blood Warrior, the real one!

He  _had_ to stop this. Taking a deep breath, he held up a hand.

"Blood Creatures!"

All the Blood Creatures stopped their feasting, turning to face Therius all at once. The white knight did his best not to  _flinch_ , for the looks in their eyes were impassive, or curious at best. None of them looked anywhere close to remorseful for eating the knights.  _Not at all._

"Unhand all the knights immediately." Therius started. "The one that made you do this—tell me, who are they?"

He still didn't know exactly how to use this power, but he'd try his best. So far, asking them questions and giving direct commands seemed to do the trick, so he'd work with that.

One of the Blood Creatures came forwards, floating in front of him, and he did his best not to gag at the heavy scent of blood.

"… _ **Ulricaaaaa."**_

The Blood Creature then closed its mouth. Therius frowned, staring at it, before speaking.

"Where did this Ulrica go? Lead me to her."

The Blood Creatures all started filing out of the room, and Therius quickly followed. If this Ulrica was there, maybe the former Count was there as well.

* * *

Arganan fell. He hissed, trying to get up from the floor, but two hands clamped around his ankles. He growled, trying to grab the edges of the floor under him, but his grip failed him, for their forceful dragging was too strong.

"Damn you!" He wasn't going down without a fight for his life. Not like last time, when he just lost himself to the madness of the Outisder. "Damn you! Damn all of you!  _Fuck you!"_

"Naughty language." Ulrica laughed from behind him. "Never thought you'd swear like a commoner, being the former Count you are."

"Shut up!" Arganan turned his head, trying to face her as best as he could, the Blood Creatures continuing to drag him towards her. He grimaced at the little scratches underneath him as a result of the floor against his clothed but scarred left side. The coppery smell of blood didn't make it easier, either. "You won't get away with this, you won't—"

He then heard a gasp, strangled from Ulrica's lungs, and he turned his head a bit more to see that Therius was there, stabbing her in the back and through her chest. The Blood Creatures by his side hissed.

"You…" Ulrica turned her head, glaring, before pulling herself off the blade. Blood bloomed from her back and chest, but she stayed standing regardless, pointing her shortsword at the white knight. "You'll pay for that You just ruined my armor!"

"It must be terrible armor," Therius quipped back, "If it's  _that_  flimsy."

She hissed and snapped her fingers, several other Blood Creatures appearing at once. Therius swallowed, looking from his Blood Creatures and then to hers, just as she screamed.

" _Kill them all!"_

Arganan rolled to the side as best as he could, backing up against the wall as both Therius and Ulrica's Blood Creatures lunged at each other, watching the fight.

What could he do to go against them? He had the Blood Warrior's mark, sure, but…what could he do with that?

But then he realized…they just commanded Blood Creatures. Directed them like servants. He could do that. He used to be Count, after all.

Swallowing, trying not to gag on the growing scent of blood in the room, he looked to one of the Blood Creatures.

"You," He rasped. "Get over here."

The Blood Creature hesitated, and he sighed. Maybe he should try a different approach.  _"Please_ come over here?"

His voice, weakened from all the screaming and swearing earlier, somehow convinced the Blood Creature to come closer. Once it got by its side, it immediately helped him up. He stared at them—he hadn't asked them to do that, but he appreciated it.

"Tell me," He managed, looking from Ulrica and Therius fighting and then to the Blood Creature. "Do you know anything that might drive Ulrica away? I can't imagine she's a good boss if she just makes you fight your fellow creatures."

The Blood Creature looked to all its fellow Blood Creatures fighting each other, clawing and hissing at each other, on behalf of Therius and Ulrica, then looked to Arganan again, shaking its head.

"I thought so." Right.  _Honey always attracted more flies…I need to be nice if I want to convince this one to help me_. "I need you to tell me how to get rid of her. So she won't make you do that anymore."

" _Promise."_  The Blood Creature's wispy voice murmured, eyes baring into his one working eye.  _"Promise you won't be her. Promise you are not lying."_

Could he do that? Try not to be so…commanding? And asking them nicely? Not using them to outright kill people because he could?

Given how much hell he caused as a former Count,  _could_ he do that? He knew he hurt others, including his niece. Hell, they were arguing about just that earlier.

But…if this was the way to get rid of Ulrica and her other evil companions, he'd try.

"I promise. Please, tell me…"

He swallowed. It was not easy to say 'please,' but he said it.

" _Please."_


	11. Costs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Therius and Arganan are stuck fighting Ulrica on their own, but will they survive? Meanwhile, Mirania and Zesha find new information about the Blood Warrior's abilities—but it comes at a cost.

Therius ducked out of the way of Ulrica, just before the woman turned and blasted him with a spray of blood, right in the eyes. The white knight staggered backwards, barely dodging a swing of a sword she created out of the blood pooling around them, dripping onto the stone floors below them because of all the Blood Creatures lingering around.

He knew he was easily outnumbered, and he wasn't sure if Arganan could even fight. He didn't even know if Calista and the others would be coming so soon.

Damn it. Maybe running ahead of everyone else hadn't been the smartest plan, but he'd just wanted to protect Arganan and all the other knights that got attacked, even if it cost his life. He swore that he'd fight for those that needed protecting until his final breath.

But could he die yet? He was the fated Blood Warrior.  _The_ Blood Warrior.

This couldn't be his time yet, could it?

He did his best not to focus on the possibility of dying, despite the scent of blood flooding his nostrils. Rolling out of the way of another blast from Ulrica, he stabbed forwards, nicking her shoulder. She hissed, before blasting him again. He hit the wall behind him, groaning as he slid onto the ground.

Ulrica laughed. Slow footsteps made him look up at her leering face, and she spit on him. Therius growled, reaching for his sword, but several Blood Creatures lunged at him, holding him down.

" _Blood—!"_

He didn't get the time to speak, two bloody hands clamping over his mouth and lower jaw from one Blood Creature. Despite him trying to bite at them, or try to use his mind to speak to him, trying to will them into obeying him, nothing was working.

"Look at you now," Ulrica purred, her malicious gaze staring into his, "all perfectly vulnerable. This will be fun to watch."

She took a deep breath, eyes glowing, and the Blood Creatures hissed at Therius, opening up their sharp jaws. Therius' eyes widened, and a scream would've left his throat—

If not for Arganan stabbing Ulrica in the side. Ulrica gasped, a groan escaping her as the glow in her eyes vanished, and she staggered away from both men, some of the Blood Creatures following her.

Therius pushed several Blood Creatures off himself, looking to Arganan, who was barely on his feet, sword in hand. "How did you…?"

"Weak spots." Arganan breathed, looking to Therius. "The fucking Blood Warrior marks you have. They're all weak spots! She has one on her side!"

"What!?" Therius looked from Arganan, then to Ulrica, then to Arganan again. "But how did you find out? Were you researching with Mirania and Zesha?"

Arganan gestured to one of the Blood Creatures floating by his side. "They told me, after I asked nicely." A faint laugh escaped him at that. "Apparently she doesn't treat them well enough. I promised them I'd treat them  _better."_

_You better live up to that promise,_  Therius thought but didn't say out loud. He knew the Count and Calista didn't have the best relationship, and it wasn't like he'd necessarily had any close bonds with anyone (except maybe Dagran, as far as Therius knew about their relationship).

"Damn you!" Ulrica's hiss made both men turn their attention to her. "Do either of you have any clue as of what your power can do?"

A forced laugh escaped Arganan's lips, and he shook his head. "Hell no. I'm pretty sure we would, if you stopped trying to kill us every second."

Therius inhaled sharply, eyes trained on Ulrica as he picked up his sword. "Perhaps you'd like to tell us, Miss Ulrica?"

Ulrica could only laugh. "In your dreams!"

Her eyes glowed, and she lunged at both men again, all three of them falling into a frenzy of attacks. Blood Creatures either fought on the behalf of Therius and Arganan or for Ulrica.

Despite the white knight and former Count not knowing much about their own new abilities, neither man wanted to go down without a fight well-fought.

* * *

Zesha walked back into the library, frowning as he saw Mirania running about, pulling books off the shelves.

"Human…?"

"Not now." Mirania flipped open a book, her eyes scanning the pages as fast as she could. "I need to find more information on the Blood Warrior and fast. Count Arganan's being attacked, Therius and the others ran ahead, but…I just know there has to be something missing."

"I thought we figured it out already." The King of the Gurak noted, walking over to her and picking up a book, frowning as he opened it up and began to skim through it. "I killed Cassius, and subsequently absorbed his power. We just have to kill all our enemies in order to gain their power and become the 'Blood Warrior' that we've all discussed. Simple as that, human."

"I get that point—and call me Mirania,  _please."_  She frowned, looking up at him. "I also understand that we know how people can gain the power of the Blood Warrior, but…is there a way to gain it from others without killing them? You saw all the Blood Creatures that were with Cassius, right? They disappeared after you gained his power. And so far, we've only seen one or two with Therius…and none with you. Calista told me she saw a few with the former Count when she first saw him, and I saw a few with Asthar. It leads me to believe that Asthar and the former Count spent more time with these powers than you and Therius did. They probably have more power than you two."

Zesha exhaled sharply, flipping through more pages. He still didn't find anything, so he put it down and picked up another book. "You think the  _number_  of Blood Creatures someone has in total symbolizes how powerful and experienced they are?" He scoffed at that. "Numbers do not always win the battle."

"It could be." Mirania shuddered, putting her book down. "I also understand what you mean, but we also know Cassius had more experience in his powers overall, given how comfortable he was with his powers when trying to kill you, me, and Yurick. You managed to kill him, and yet you don't have more Blood Creatures with you."

"It's not like I've had a chance to master said power." Zesha pointed out. "Like with swords, spears, and other weaponry, you need  _time_ to train and hone your abilities. Is it not the same for magic, and strange powers such as the Blood Warrior's own?"

"It could be a matter of time and overall length of experience, no matter how much power you have." Mirania conceded. "But I still think there's something else."

That was when Zesha flipped to a particular page in the book he held, and he stared. Could it be…?

He started reading aloud.

" _Those who seek knowledge of the Blood Warrior's will pay a heavy price. The blood of others is needed to aid them."_

He looked up to see Mirania pale, eyes widening.

"Did you just say…the blood of others?"

He offered the book to her. "That's what it says."

She grabbed the book from him, flipping to the next pages. All the ensuing pages were blank, and she stared, before flipping back to the page Zesha just pointed out.

"Ow!" She grimaced, looking to her now-cut index finger. A drop of blood formed, before it fell onto one of the blank pages. Moments later, blood-red words began to form on it.

"Mirania," Zesha started, breath hitching, "That's…"

"They weren't kidding about the blood." She breathed, looking to the page and reading it.

" _For each page, blood of someone other than the Blood Warrior must be spilled upon it. Only do this when you have no idea what to do."_ She frowned, looking up at him. "Do you think I could just bleed onto a few pages and find out everything?"

"Try it." Zesha suggested. "It might work." He took the book from her, holding it carefully so she could squeeze another drop of blood onto another blank page.

Nothing happened.

Zesha growled, glaring down at the book.

"Don't tell me we need to spill a different' person's blood for  _every page…"_

* * *

Therius found himself hitting the wall again, sliding down onto the floor. If the scent of blood wasn't nauseating enough earlier, now it was. He wasn't sure if all of it came from whatever wounds he sustained so far, or

He barely rolled out of the way in time, Ulrica hissing and trying to blast him with sprays of blood.

"You won't escape me!  _Get back here!"_

Arganan groaned, throwing a chunk of broken wall at Ulrica as he got scratched by a few Blood Creatures at her command. "Blah, blah, blah, can you s _hut up!?"_

"Where's your mark?" Ulrica glared right at him in the good eye, blasting him back against a nearby pillar. "Once I find it, you'll be dead!"

"As if I'd tell you, bitch!" Arganan roared back. "Unlike you, we actually KNOW where your bloody weak spot is!"

Therius would've groaned and told them both off for having such a partially-silly discussion in the middle of a life-and-death situation, but he decided that wasn't the smartest idea. He was getting better at figuring out what not to say, recently. Instead, he used the time of Ulrica distracted by Arganan to tackle her down—only to raise his sword and slice into her side, the blade embedding itself into her skin.

Ulrica screeched, eyes alighting with pain. Therius swallowed, pulling the sword out of her side where the mark was, and he saw fresh blood pool from her

"Y-you…fool…" Ulrica glared up at him, eyebrows furrowed, her face a mix of anguish and anger from a clenched jaw and malicious eyes. "You won't always win so  _easily."_

Therius steeled his gaze on her, standing up slowly, sword still in hand. He tried not to gag at all the bloody smells invading his nostrils as he spoke, voice coming out weaker than he hoped.

"I think I won this one. Begone."

Therius expected the light to fade from her eyes, for her to stop breathing. Instead, her entire body convulsed, before turning bloody red, melting onto the ground…before it started creeping towards Therius.

"Therius?" Arganan coughed, weakly. "I think you might want to—"

Too late.

Therius saw nothing but red rising around him, before everything went black.

* * *

Zesha tried to cut his own finger and put some of his blood on the page, but nothing happened.

"They really  _do_  mean anyone who isn't the Blood Warrior." Mirania managed, sighing as she used healing magic to repair her cut finger and his. "I guess because you have the Blood Warrior's mark, you spilling your blood on the page wouldn't do anything."

"I suppose that must be so." Zesha frowned, closing the book and looking up at her. "If that's the case, does that mean we go around, asking everyone and anyone possible to squeeze some blood onto every page?"

Mirania shook her head, shuddering. "I hope not. But we should get back to the others as soon as we can. This…could help all of us."

Zesha's eyes narrowed. "But at what cost?"

Mirania decided not to answer that as they both headed out of the library.

* * *

"It's Sir Therius and the former Count Arganan over there, Lady Calista!"

"What!? Lead me to them"

Calista had went to get reinforcements after Therius ran ahead to see all the chaos, but she didn't know what to expect. She didn't know if Therius was still alive, or if anyone was dead.

As they walked in, she certainly she didn't expect this:

Therius, blood covered and unconscious on the ground. Arganan, kneeling by his side and trying to shake him awake.

And there was one familiar face she didn't expect  _at all._

She heard Zael gasp from behind her. "Da—"

"They'll be fine." The other's low voice interrupted. "Therius just passed out, that's all. And that Ulrica is dead, by the way."

Calista's lips pressed thinly together, before she bit her lower lip, unsure of what to say, or do. Doing her best to stay composed, despite the smell of drying blood, she inhaled deeply before speaking.

"How are you here?"

A smug grin rested on Dagran's face as he turned to face her, his golden eyes meeting her blue ones.

"Same way your uncle and Therius did, of course. How  _else_  am I back?"


	12. Alone Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Therius wakes up in the aftermath, Dagran has a lot to explain, and the former Count gets a second visit from Dagran.

Therius woke with a throbbing headache and pain shooting through his body. A groan escaped his throat, only for the soft, soothing tingle of healing magic coursing through his body in response. Vision still blurry, he looked up—only to see a certain nature mage sitting by his bedside.

"Miss Mirania?" His voice croaked, and he winced at that.

Mirania offered him a soft, reassuring smile. "You're alive, Sir Therius." She managed. "You're not dead."

Despite the pain, the white knight couldn't help but laugh, though winced at trickles of pain through his ribs afterwards. "G-good…to know."

Mirania sighed, shaking her head, before raising her hand towards his bandaged and otherwise-bare chest. Therius only became aware now that he was only covered waist-down.

"How…" He swallowed, flinching at the sudden tingling of healing magic at his chest before speaking again. "How long was I unconscious?"

"A few hours. It's the late afternoon, now." Mirania removed her hand from his chest, looking him in the eyes. "You need to stay down and get some rest. A lot of rest. These injuries will take a while to heal. You broke a few ribs, though I think what magic I've used on them should help them heal within a day or two."

"Is Arganan…?"

"Other than a bump on the head, several bruises and cuts, bruised ribs, and a partially-broken mechanical arm, he's actually quite fine. You took the brunt of Ulrica's attacks compared to him."

He heaved relief in his next breath. At least he'd protected the former Count to an extent. "He…mentioned something about a weakness for the Blood Warrior. The marks that show that they're Blood Warriors are—"

"Weak spots?"

"…How did you know?"

She chuckled a bit. "He told me while cursing half the time he got treatment. He…was surprisingly pleased that you killed Ulrica and absorbed her powers."

"I what?"

Mirania blanched. "Um…"

"I absorbed her powers?" Therius repeated, eyes widening. "Does that mean…?"

"Therius," Mirania managed, swallowing, "You just woke up, and you still need rest. Please, don't worry about it until you get better."

"I need to learn more about my new powers….especially if I'm supposed to be  _the_ Blood Warrior that will help others." He ended lamely. He tried to sit up, but a glare from Mirania made him lie back down.

"Please rest." She repeated. "Going out like this isn't going to help you or anyone else. Okay?"

"I…" He held back a spiteful tongue at his inability to help anyone right now. "I understand."

She offered him a reassuring smile. "You'll be okay, Sir Therius. Just get some rest."

It didn't take him long to fall asleep, despite his frustration at the whole situation.

He was just too tired to think any further.

* * *

Zesha held the tome he and Mirania found earlier tightly to his chest, watching as Calista, Zael, and the others all gathered in the Count's office with…Dagran.

Yes, that Dagran. Dagran, who secretly joined forces with the late Lord Zangurak. Currently, Dagran stood, leaning back against the wall as everyone threw questions at him. The glowing red mark of the Blood Warrior, shone through the thin shirt he wore, even if it was faint. A few Blood Creatures floated around him, but he himself was clean of blood.

Thank goodness, because Zesha was already getting sick of smelling blood right now. The less of it, the better.

"Why didn't you reveal yourself until now?" Zael looked the most confused out of everyone present, and Zesha didn't blame him. He knew, from what little he knew of Dagran, that Dagran was close to Zael and the Count in the past in different ways.

"I didn't see any reason to do so, especially since I died on bad terms." Dagran's eyebrow twitched as he answered, and despite some irritation at all the questions, he handled them calmly. "If I did, I'm pretty sure Syrenne would've thrown me out a window."

Syrenne glowered at him in the corner. "I would've done that for sure, dumbass."

Lowell grimaced, wrapping an arm around Syrenne's waist to comfort her, but it didn't stop her from still glaring at Dagran. Zesha  _had_ heard, from whispers of everyone around him, that the rest of Dagran's past mercenary team was quite divided over his death—for very obvious reasons.

"I know who the person is sending all those people trying to terrorize this place." Dagran continued, ignoring Syrenne's remark. "The one that sent Cassius and Ulrica after you and Therius—their name is Nox."

"They?" Calista repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Can't figure out if it's a guy or a lady. They never took off the hood. That's not important, though. What is important is that they want the power of the Blood Warrior to themselves. Cassius and Ulrica were two of their followers."

"There are more followers?" Zesha stared. "Why give up their own Blood Warrior powers to this Nox? Why not keep it for themselves?"

"Nox won't let them. Technically," Dagran looked down at the glowing mark on his chest, then up at the others, "I should be  _dead_  again by now, or under Nox's control. The only reason I didn't get to either path is because I ran when I could. Asthar wasn't so lucky."

"Is that why he's stuck with them?" It was Mirania that spoke, frowning. "Is Nox controlling him?"

"At this point, yeah."

Zesha frowned, tilting his head slightly. "What do you mean, 'at this point?' Was there an opportunity for him to break free?"

"Yeah. Thing is…the more powerful you are, the more you can control other people with marks of the Blood Warrior. Of course, that means that those underneath you lose all self-control."

Zesha said nothing, recalling himself killing Cassius. Did that mean Cassius had no self-control over trying to kill him at the time, then?

"If you make yourself powerful enough, or at least willful enough, you can resist it. That's how I escaped." Dagran made direct eye contact with Zesha. "Because you and Therius were physically far enough from others with more powerful Blood Warrior abilities, you two probably won't be mind-controlled anytime soon. Same goes for the former Count."

"So Asthar…" Zael started.

"Is definitely screwed at this point." Dagran concluded. "I doubt that next time we'll see him, he'll be merciful or apologetic. He'll just try to kill us, just like Cassius and Ulrica."

"There has to be a way to help him." Mirania argued, shaking her head. "Maybe there's a way we can help him regain self-control."

"I don't know if there is any way to reverse it." Dagran's jaw clenched. "If we spread ourselves too thin trying to go after all of Nox's followers and reverse the mind-control, we'd be putting ourselves at risk."

Calista shook her head and sighed. "Dagran has a point, Mirania." She looked to Dagran. "Is there anything else you know? Like how many followers Nox has left?"

"Not completely." Dagran swallowed. His golden eyes flickered away from her, and then towards her again. "I knew Cassius and Ulrica were two, but there was one person other than Asthar, wearing a cloak...and last time I overheard them, they were planning on bringing Jirall into the mix. Zangurak, too."

Everyone went silent at the mention of those last two. It was bad enough, knowing that Asthar might be against them. But have Jirall and Zangurak back, too?

"Would the Outsider's power be a part of Zangurak if he comes back?" Zael asked quickly, blue eyes widening, hands trembling at his sides. "I mean.."

"No, I don't think so." Dagran answered, looking him in the eyes. "After all, I did absorb his power. And then I lost it to you. So no, it won't go back to him. He'll have the Blood Warrior's power, though. It won't be any easier…at least, I doubt it will be. As for our own side…"

Dagran's eyes scanned everyone else, before speaking again. "Other than me in this room, there's the former Count, Therius, and Zesha."

"So it's four of you versus potentially four of them. And for sure, we only have two we're up against left." Lowell remarked. "That seems pretty easy."

Zesha glared at him. "Killing Cassius was  _far_  from easy, human."

"And I have to agree with him." Dagran managed.

Lowell stared. "You tried to kill him?"

"Kind of. Might explain why he was so determined to kill you, Zesha. To be fair, I had to do it to escape."

A sarcastic "Thanks" dropped from Zesha's lips, right before Mirania spoke.

"What do we do now? How do we find them?"

"You don't find them, Mirania." Dagran looked her in the eyes one more time, and Zesha saw her swallow at the golden-eyed man's last statement.

"They find  _us."_

* * *

Arganan woke up alone.

At least, he thought he was alone. His eyebrows twitched at his throbbing head, and he faintly remembered the battle he and Therius had with Ulrica. What happened after Therius killed her?

There was blood. He  _knew_  there was blood. He saw it cover and surround Therius as he absorbed her power. The very image of it in his mind's eye made him shudder, and he tried to burying his head in the covers. Pain reverberated all over in retaliation, so he stopped. A groan escaped his lips as his vision cleared, and he took the opportunity to turn his head in an attempt to look around.

It was only then that he saw a Blood Creature float towards him, before resting a bloody hand on his forehead, as if checking for fever. He shuddered, shaking his head in an attempt to ward it away, the smell of blood making him nauseous, but the Blood Creature didn't get it.

"Hands off." He croaked. "Please."

The Blood Creature pulled its hand away, and he tried blowing at his damp bangs so they were out of his face. The Blood Creature extended a hand towards his forehead again, only to push his bangs to the side so the smell of blood wasn't completely in his face. He blinked, his good eye looking to the Blood Creature's curious face, saw the wide eyes and closed mouth, and he weakly chuckled.

"Thank you."

Another chuckle echoed in the room, but it didn't come from the Blood Creature. Arganan turned his head to see who it was, leaning against the doorway.

"Dagran."

Dagran smiled one of those stupidly handsome smiles of his, that smug little grin that suggested he knew something or was up to something.

"I see you're getting along swimmingly." The younger man commented, closing the door behind him and walking into the room. He sat down on a stool beside the former Count's bed, looking down at him, then towards the Blood Creature still with them. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore as hell, thank you." Arganan breathed, looking right up at him. "I thought you'd leave. Like last time, when you left me alone in those baths."

"Maybe I should've rejoined you after." Dagran admitted, running a hand through his hair. "You certainly enjoyed my company, even if unexpected."

"How was I supposed to expect you?" Arganan swallowed, cursing his own dry throat. "You died."

"You died, too."

"Touché."

Dagran further pushed Arganan's bangs out of his face, before looking to the Blood Creature again. "How does it feel, knowing you have this little one? Did you kill Ulrica?"

"Therius did. You saw."

"Yeah, but you got one of her own Blood Creatures. That's got to count for  _something."_

Arganan did his best to shrug. "I found the weak spot. I literally begged this one to tell me where it was."

"Really?" The younger man asked, mocking curiosity. "Did you say  _please_  and thank you?"

The former Count half-glared at him, face flushing warmly. "Oh, shut up."

Dagran laughed. "You like my voice too much to make me shut up. You know that."

"I know…" Arganan closed his good eye, before speaking again. "Why are you here, Dagran? Just for teasing? For pleasantries about killing our enemies?"

He heard Dagran hum, almost mock-pondering that question, before answering. "To give you the opportunity to embrace me again. I did tell you that you could do that, before."

"I don't know if I can." The words felt hollow, and the former Count swallowed. "After everything that's happened…I don't know, Dagran."

"I know I hurt you."

"I know that you know."

"Then why not?"

A sigh escaped the older man. "I need time."

"We don't have eternity."

"Not that much time, fool. Just more than some moment or an hour. And more than the amount of time needed for a bath, that's for fucking sure."

"I thought of you when I first came back."

That made Arganan stare at him. Dagran gave him a look in return, raising an eyebrow,before closing his own golden eyes, leaning back and letting his head rest against the wall behind him.

"I did. I did think of you. I thought I would've thought of Zael, but no. Just you. Made me wonder if you were dead. And then I found out that you  _did_ die, and that they brought you back. I would've broken you out if I wasn't injured, trying to get myself out. My plan was to get myself healed, then run back and drag you out."

"You would've done that for me?"

"Yeah."

"You wouldn't have left me to…" Arganan would've lifted an arm to gesture, but he couldn't. He felt too sore to do so. "You wouldn't have left me to them?"

"You kind of killed yourself in the stupidest way possible. I'm pretty sure that's the worst you need to suffer from."

Arganan could only laugh. Despite his aching ribs, he did so anyway.

"Gods…you're right about that."

Neither man noticed Mirania listening to them from outside, because neither of them knew that she followed Dagran to the room and listened from outside. She took a step back from the door, and walked away, leaving them alone together.


	13. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Therius is trying to get a hang of being the Blood Warrior, the former Count Arganan is understandably bitter about many things, Dagran tries to make light of the situation, and Zesha and Mirania can only hope that they can all work together to stop Nox’s nefarious plans. What could possibly go wrong?

Therius opened his eyes, and blinked several times. He heard the soft, babbling coos of the Blood Creatures from his left and right, but at this point he was fine.

He was fine, right? He still felt a bit groggy and sore, as he was still healing, but he was awake and alive.

"Ah. You're  _awake."_

Zesha's voice cut into his thoughts, just before Therius felt himself getting lifted, pulled upwards. The Blood Warrior let a yelp escape him as he struggled, but the invisible bonds refused to let him go, lifting him at least a full foot off the bed, blanket slipping off him. "What!?"

He turned his head to see Zesha stand there, an arm raised. His hand glowed red, and Therius thought, at first, that he had the late Zangurak's Mark of the Outsider.

_No._  He took a second glance _. It's the Blood Warrior's mark._

And right beside Zesha was a Blood Creature, floating on the spot and staring at Therius.

Therius promptly hurled. He heard Zesha audibly grimace, and the white knight groaned as he felt himself abruptly land back on the bed.

"Maybe you're not as healthy as I hoped." The Gurak King mused. "I'm surprised you heal so slow, despite being our supposed 'Blood Warrior.'"

"To be fair, King Zesha," Therius started, sitting up slowly to face Zesha properly this time, "I haven't had much experience. Neither of us, in fact."

"True. That may explain your weakness. But Mirania and I found a few ancient techniques in some books, as of how people with the Blood Warriors' mark trained."

“You wish for me to see?”

“Yes. In the Tower of Trials.”

* * *

 

It had been some time since Therius went to the Tower of Trials. Long ago, in fact. The last time he was there, Asthar was the one that tested him personally. Thinking about Asthar made Therius' heart ache. 

_General. We'll save you soon, I promise._

He couldn't give up on the idea that the man might be potentially under Nox's control if his will broke by now. But Therius knew that no matter what, the General would've wanted him to fight for what was right, in the end.

Gathered in the Tower of Trials was Mirania and Zesha, as he guessed, but Dagran was also there. He supposed it made sense, given that Dagran was a person with the Blood Warrior's mark.

"All we're missing is the former Count," Mirania noted. "I talked with him earlier. He said he'd come over here to discuss all of this with us."

As if on cue, the former Count of Lazulis did arrive in the Tower of Trials.

"I'm here," Arganan managed, the tapping of his cane echoing through the hall as he approached them. "Just because I have a  _still-fucked-up_  metal arm doesn't mean I'm out."

Zesha raised an eyebrow. "You certainly woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

"Fuck you."

Mirania's eyes widened. "Count Arganan!?"

He met her gaze with a glare. "Am I not allowed to express my rage at accidentally and prematurely killing myself, only to be resurrected and immediately thrown into near-mind control by our shared enemy  _and_ also almost died again,  _recently?_  Appearances are the last thing I care about right now."

"You're far snappier than before your first death." Dagran noted, before chuckling. "You're much more like yourself now, aren't you? An open book."

"Ugh."

Mirania decided to butt into the matter and stop them from fighting, holding out the book she and Zesha found in the library. "Zesha and I found this for information on the Blood Warriors. Unfortunately, we can't find out more unless we spill at least a little bit of the blood of different people on each of the pages…"

"So we need to spill a different person's blood for every page of this book?" Dagran frowned.  _"That_  certainly keeps everything secret."

"How many pages are there?" Arganan mused, flipping through a few pages.

Zesha took out his sword. "How about we all give ourselves papercuts to find out? Mirania and I already did it, so I suppose the three of you get hurt this time. And, for the love of our sanity,  _don't_ whine about it."

Arganan glared at him.  _"Seriously?"_

Therius looked to Mirania. Mirania could only offer him a sheepish smile. "We'll figure it out, somehow."

Therius nodded. "We will. We have to." He kept his voice low enough so Dagran, Zesha and Arganan wouldn't overhear them.

Mirania looked to her former friend and the former Count. "Can you both spill at least a few drops? Nothing fatal?"

Dagran took out a dagger, before slitting his own fingertip with it. A few drops fell on the pages, before they faded. In their place, inked letters appeared.

"Looks like we were right about earlier." Zesha murmured, as Arganan reluctantly also slit his finger to get more blood on the pages, and Therius followed suit. Mirania took the book from the two, reading.

"Okay…so, we knew from earlier that Blood Warriors have weak spots, which are their own marks. They have that written here as well."

"Our hands are weak spots, then." Dagran managed, before looking to Therius. "Except for you and me, of course. Me, they have to stab me in the chest. They just have to cut off your head."

Therius internally grimaced. "I'm more than sure decapitation will  _absolutely_ kill me, with or without the Blood Warrior's mark."

"Or they just stab you in the head and _then_ you die." Zesha cut in, almost smirking.

"That's still not helpful, King Zesha."

"The mark isn't on my hand, though." Arganan noted. "It's…" He then stopped.

Dagran looked to him. "It's...?"

Arganan swallowed. "I think it's safer not to say."

"Blood Warriors," Mirania continued to read, "trained each other by engaging in duels that focused on hitting each other's weak spots. Of course, these aren't fatal hits. They usually used special weapons that they forged themselves. Fatal to normal people, but they wouldn't harm Blood Warriors. Apparently side effects of having their marks hit by these special weapons are general nausea…"

Dagran and Arganan both looked to each oither. Therius guessed that they'd both thrown up at some point from battling and using their powers alone.

"Soreness lasting for days…" Mirania continued, flipping a page, "Oh, and mild fever for twenty-four hours."

Zesha did not look impressed, stone-faced as he shook his head. "Why would Nox want to accumulate powers such as these if training to use them would hurt so much? Either they are determined to use it to its full potential, or they are a fool who has no clue what they got themselves into."

Therius kept his mouth shut, but he had a bad feeling about him and the others having these powers in the first place.  _I think we're all in that latter category._

"Does it say anything about how to make the weapons, or find them?" Dagran asked, crossing his arms.

"You make the weapons with blood. You use your own powers to do so."

"So we can't harm other people with the Blood Warrior's mark with  _weapons made out of blood_ , and yet  _sprays of blood lasers_  can harm us?"

"That's magic using the blood itself as a liquid though." Zesha pointed out. "If there's enough pressure and speed, it can be harmful. Though…it does sound odd, I admit. Seems better to just stab them with regular knives and other weapons until they die."

Mirania frowned, re-reading the book, before pointing out a page. "This might explain it, King Zesha. Only when an item called a Star Seal is used on it can this weapon become fatal to other Blood Warriors."

"Wait." Zesha looked her in the eyes, then down towards the book in her hands. "Does it say what the weapon looked like once the Star Seal was applied?"

"It shimmers a red and gold glow simultaneously. Otherwise it looks like a regular, albeit bloodstained weapon."

Therius saw Zesha frown. "Cassius had a weapon like that. One with a Star Seal. I remember that glow."

"But he rarely used it while attacking us, if at all." Mirania noted. "Why?"

"He probably wasn't that adept at weapons and preferred long-range magic." Arganan guessed, before groaning. "Remember that Area Illusion?"

"Same went for Ulrica when we battled her; she relied on magic as opposed to weapons." Therius managed. "She used the Blood Creatures a lot, or just blasted us with liquid blood."

"She didn't even have a visible weapon on her from what I recall." Arganan managed, frowning.

"Well, no need to worry about her any longer." Dagran cut in, his golden-eyed gaze sweeping over everyone else. "How about we get to some of that training you mentioned, Mirania?"

* * *

 

" _Ad bellum!"_

Therius got what he expected to get as a weapon; a sword, encrusted with blood on both its blade and hilt. He inspected it closely, then compared it with the rapier he had on him. They both looked like regular weapons, except for the sword being covered in blood and the rapier currently unstained. And the blood-covered one I summoned is non-lethal until I add a Star Seal to it? Interesting.

He overheard the former Count yell  _"Ad bellum"_  for the umpteenth time in a row, before cursing loudly. "Why isn't it working!?"

Dagran sighed, looking to him. He looked more than fed up with the man's frustration. Therius knew that the two had worked closely while they were previously both alive, and it made the white knight wonder how often Dagran had to deal with Arganan's temper. "I doubt you can force it so harshly. Remember what I told you about embracing the power?"

"I assumed at the time," Arganan spat, looking to him, "that it was a metaphor for getting back with  _you,_  you idiot! You asked me to embrace  _you_ , too!'

Zesha suddenly suppressed a laugh. "You two  _actually_  were together? I thought you were joking."

"Wait," Arganan looked from Zesha, then to Dagran, "He  _knew?"_

Dagran went awkwardly silent and shrugged. Therius guessed that meant a yes, because that was when Arganan yelled  _"Ad bellum"_  and a whip of all things appeared in his hands.

"Cat O'Nine." Zesha noted. "Interesting choice."

The former Count stared at him a little. "It…was the first thing that came into my head…"

"How nice," Dagran teased, before Arganan shot him a glare.

"Don't make me want to use it on you  _first!"_

Therius decided to drown out Dagran and Arganan's arguing with him challenging Zesha to a spar. The Gurak King accepted, both of them already clashing blades. While Therius' blood-summoned weapon was a sword, Zesha opted for a spear.

"Do know," Zesha managed halfway through the fight, "if you know anything of Asthar?"

Therius sidestepped a stab attack, trying to swipe at him, but missed. "No, I don't. What about you?"

"I recall Cassius mentioning Asthar prior to my fleeing the Gurak Continent. And we know Asthar was forced to briefly capture Mirania as bait, the first time we encountered Cassius." Zesha teleported out of Therius' sight, just before the white knight felt himself get shoved in the side. The white knight stumbled, but regained his balance in time for him to hold up his sword and block Zesha's next attack. Both men strained against the other's force, before Therius pushed Zesha off him.

"Do you think there's a way we can reach Asthar?" Therius asked, hitting Zesha in the side with the weapon. He saw the other visibly grimace, before swinging his spear at him. Therius ducked, rolling out of the way.

"You mean through the mind?" Zesha asked, swiping at him again. This time it hit, and Therius stumbled back at the blow. Already he felt nauseous from the one hit alone.

"Yes," The white knight managed, "that."  _This is supposed to be endurance training? It makes me wonder how tough-skinned the Blood Warriors of the past were._ "If we're capable of mind-controlling other Blood Warriors, or being controlled if not careful, do you think we could simply just contact them with our thoughts? We could reach Asthar that way. And we know he's with Nox and whoever minions they have, so he could help us understand the nature of Nox's plans."

"And risk getting controlled?" Zesha frowned, taking out Bolt Arrows and shooting them at Therius. Therius rolled out of the way again, and barely got up fast enough to block the Gurak King's stab attack with his spear.

"We have no choice but risks." Therius managed. "From what I understand, on a strategic basis, we're on a current stalemate with Nox. If we simply clash any further, we'll cause unneeded collateral damage. Nox has their own army of Blood Warriors and took over the Gurak Continent, but we have Lazulis and the four of us. If we can get any extra help in some way, whether it be through this contact with Asthar or you taking the Gurak Continent back, or maybe both, we'll have the advantage."

"Hmm." Zesha vanished from sight, but then Therius felt himself get grabbed by the back of his neck, spear pointed at his throat. He felt his shoulders tense immediately, struggling, but he heard the Gurak King's hot breath at his ear as he laughed. "Taking back the Gurak Continent? I  _like_ your thinking. No wonder Asthar kept you so closely by his side."

"He taught me all I know." Therius managed, forcing himself to take a slow, deep breath. "And I plan on using that as much as I can."

He felt Zesha let him go as they overheard the sound of retching, and Therius grimaced.

"Maybe we should go check on the other two first?"

Zesha huffed, walking towards Arganan (who was on the ground and definitely nauseous) as well as Dagran (whose face looked flush of fever).  _"Definitely."_

* * *

 

"Mirania?"

Mirania looked to her left to see Calista, approaching her. "Calista. What is it?"

"How's the training?" The Countess asked.

Mirania offered her a soft smile, looking from the book in her hands and then up at her. "It's going as expected. Your uncle and Dagran overdid it a bit, but Therius and Zesha are mostly fine, save for stomachaches. Blood Warrior-made weapons apparently can make other Blood Warriors sick deliberately. It's an endurance training thing, I don't fully understand it…but the more they have that built up, they'll be better equipped against Nox and their forces."

"I'm glad to hear that." Calista's smile was small, but then it vanished. Some of her silver hair fell over her eyes, and she pushed it out of the way with a hand. "I…I'll see you later."

Calista left, and Mirania couldn't help but frown.

… _she and her uncle really need to talk._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back with a new chapter! I hope you all enjoyed reading this one. I apologize for such a long delay on updating this fic, but I hope to post updates to this fic more regularly and even finish the fic this year!
> 
> According to translation (or at least all the translation sites I used online (NOT Google Translate), Ad Bellum means “To war” in Latin. Please correct me if I’m somehow horrendously wrong. Thanks!


	14. Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Therius tries contacting Asthar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally back to continue posting chapters of this fic! XD Though this chapter is a bit on the short side, I promise the next one will definitely make up for lack of length. I hope you enjoy reading!

Therius tried to think of General Asthar, bring up all the happy memories in his mind. Would thinking of him just bring Asthar back? He had no clue. He didn't find out anything from Mirania and Zesha's research, unfortunately, so it was up to him to figure it out.

However he figured it out, it would be easier if the Blood Creatures stopped hissing in his ears every few minutes. He knew  _that_ for sure.

The White Knight glared at the few gathered by his side. "Will you, for the third time,  _please_  stop hissing? I'm trying to contact Asthar."

" _Sleep."_

"What?"

One of the Blood Creatures put a hand over his eyes. Therius sighed at smelling blood for what felt like the umpteenth time in a row. He got used to that too quickly for his taste. Not that he hadn't smelled blood before, but it was easier for him to do so now, as the Blood Warrior.

"So you want me to sleep." Therius repeated. He heard a soft, wordless croon in confirmation, and he took a deep breath.

"Sleep it is, then."

Hopefully no one needed him too soon to deal with an enemy. If he could make contact with Asthar, maybe it could help them all.

Maybe, Therius hoped after retreating to his room and putting himself to bed, he'd be able to help Asthar, too.

* * *

The dream world was not what Therius expected. He thought it would be covered in blood, given that was what happened after he defeated an enemy, and got baptized by the Blood Creatures to begin with, but it was just some sort of blank space all around him. No furniture, no Blood Creatures in sight…nothing. Just bright whiteness that stretched into who-knows-where.

" _Sir Therius."_

He heard the voice, and he turned, to see…

"Therius. You heard me?" Asthar offered his former pupil a soft grin. He looked perfectly fine, surprisingly. No injuries, no blood, just him in hi blue coat, the red tunic underneath, and all the armor as always. "I don't think words can describe how relieved I am, to see you."

"General Asthar!"

The white knight ran towards him, and before he could barely stop in time to take a breath, Asthar pulled him into a tight embrace. Therius coughed, limbs limply hanging at his sides because Asthar had hugged him so that his arms were pinned to his sides and therefore couldn't hug back.

"Apologies for that," Asthar managed, letting go of him and looking him in the eyes. "It's been a long while since I could control myself."

"A long while…?" Therius repeated, then remembered what he discussed with the others about mind control. "Does that mean you're out of…?"

"Out of Nox's control?" Asthar chuckled, but it was sad. "Unfortunately, not fully.  _Physically,_  they still control me.  _Mentally_ , they haven't reached me—hence why I could still apologize to Miss Mirania before I knocked her out." His lips twisted at that, his smile fading completely. "Is she alright? I didn't hurt her too badly when I…knocked her out, did I?"

"She's fine." Therius reassured him. "She's been helping us find out more information about the Blood Warrior, even. If it wasn't for her, we'd have no idea what to do right now."

He saw the general's eyes light with relief. "I'm glad to hear that she's alright. You have one of the most insightful people I've met helping you right now, Therius. You don't want to lose her."

"Do you know anything about Nox or what other allies they have? Or…should I say minions?" Therius hesitated, thinking about the mind control. "Is there anyone else controlled by Nox that you know of?"

He saw Asthar's eyes widen, before he reluctantly nodded. He swallowed, then his gaze met Therius' own.

"They brought Jirall back."

Therius felt his blood freeze. Jirall Rambaldt? The man was killed during the last fight against the Gurak, as far as he knew. He didn't know the full story, but all he knew was that apparently Jirall had gone down against a bunch of Gurak when they cornered him, slaughtering him on the spot, and Zael happened to find the poor man's corpse.

Asthar kept talking. "They've been trying to bring back Zangurak, too, but they haven't succeeded. Other than Jirall, there's only one person—the person that holds sway over me physically, on Nox's order. Their name is—"

Asthar choked, falling to a knee.

"General?" Therius got on a knee to face him, only to see blood dribbling down his chin. "General Asthar? Are you alright?!"

"You need to wake up," the other rasped, his eyes not meeting his anymore.

"What—" Therius started, but Asthar held up a hand. Therius took a step back, realizing it was covered in the same blood Asthar coughed up. As if on cue, blood started spurting from the ground—droplets at a time, quickly turning into small streams.

"General," Therius started, looking to Asthar. He saw the older man's jaw clenched tightly, trying not to cough. "What _is_  this?"

Asthar looked up at him, and that was when Therius saw it—the mark of the Blood Warrior on his left collarbone. "There's no time to explain right now.  _Wake up!"_

Before Therius could say anything, there was a blue glow that surrounded him…

And then, nothing.

* * *

"Therius? Therius!"

Therius' eyes shot open to see Zael standing above him, concern in his gaze.

"Zael?" Therius winced at how hoarse he sounded, as Zael helped him sit up in bed. "What happened?"

"You wouldn't wake up and your mark was glowing." The wielder of the Outsider answered. "I didn't know what to do, so I…used my power of the Outsider to wake you."

Therius blinked, staring up at him. "You used  _your_  power on me? For that purpose?"

"Yeah." The former mercenary ran his hand through dirty blond hair, still messy as always. "I've used it before on allies to wake them up if they got temporarily knocked out, but seeing you in your state…"

Therius zoned out of Zael's explanation, remembering what Asthar told him. To wake up.

"I saw Asthar in my dreams." Therius finally cut in, seeing Zael's eyes widen. "He told me that Nox brought Jirall back from the dead."

Zael went completely silent, almost paling, and Therius wasn't sure whether he should regret bringing up the man or not. But then again…Zael would know about Jirall's fate, right?

"Zael," Therius finally asked, "Is there anything about Jirall that…I should know?"

Zael needed a minute to process it, before his gaze dropped from Therius' own.

"Yeah." His voice held fear in it. "I told you Jirall went mad because Zangurak did something to him, right? But…thing is, he had a specific sword with him. It was called Emperor—the magical properties of it were what made him go made, but also absurdly strong. It's honestly luck that I defeated him. If he has that sword  _and_  he has the powers of the Blood Warrior…I don't know how badly off he'll be."

"Then we must go to the former Count and Lady Calista." The words came out of Therius' lips faster than he could think. "We must warn them."

Therius could only hope that they weren't too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Therius and Zael try warning Arganan and Calista of Jirall, but…Jirall might've come sooner than they hoped.


	15. A Returned Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jirall is back. Arganan, Calista, and even Dagran didn't see him coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for mentions of domestic abuse in the first bit of this chapter (mentioned in dialogue only, and non-graphically, but still).

Dagran took a slow, deep breath, standing somewhat between the former Count and Calista. Both Arganans were locked in argument, half yelling, half glaring, all tense for the past hour or so.

Dagran started wondering if he was going to regret suggesting to the former Count, earlier, that he should talk to his niece about all the past hurts transpiring between them. Mirania had pulled Dagran aside earlier today after training, asking him about how Arganan was. It made sense that she asked him, he supposed, given that he knew Arganan the best.

After he'd told Mirania that he sensed that Arganan seemed a bit…disturbed, for lack of better words, in regards to his current relations with Calista, Mirania suggested that  _Dagran_  suggest getting the two to talk it out. They'd only be able to work together better once they got past the hurt that happened, she was sure, and besides, Dagran was the smooth talker out of everyone. It made the most sense for him to suggest it. Probably helped that he was so close to the former Count as is, too.

"Calista, I'm sorry…"

"You never _once_  apologized to me for hurting me. You never once apologized for using me just so you can gain your own power." Calista's voice came out stony, borderline icy. The look in her face was one of scorn, and Dagran didn't blame her. Her uncle, meanwhile, stood opposite her, mouth shut and face twisted in shame. "And after  _all this time_ , you apologize  _now?"_

"It becomes a habit. You don't know when to stop once you get into it. And I didn't realize how bad it was until it was too late."

"When did you figure it out, then? Or…when did it really hit you that it was all wrong, then!?"

"When  _you_  slapped me in the face the day I died." Arganan's voice almost turned as stony as hers, but softened at the end. "That's when."

It was Calista's turn to go silent. Arganan looked like he  _did_  get slapped in the face, even when she hadn't done so, but he kept talking regardless. Dagran saw the shame in his eyes, saw the discomfort. He knew the former Count never liked getting too vulnerable so soon (and Dagran found it a miracle that Arganan had ever opened up to him to the point of shared intimacy when both were previously alive).

"I hurt you, Calista. I hurt you more than I thought I ever realized and ruined…what should have been. I  _should_ have been less harsh on you, I  _shouldn't_ have hurt you, I should have put  _you_  first above the power I wanted to maintain in Lazulis. But I didn't. And I'm sorry."

Dagran looked to Calista, seeing that she looked…shocked, at best. Stunned, perhaps, was a better way to describe it. She was incredibly still as she took this all in. Arganan's good eye widened as he looked into her eyes, still talking, still trying to reach her.

"I know that apologies won't solve everything. And I can't guarantee I'm some changed man overnight. I don't even know how long I'll be alive or anything like that, but…I want to be better. And I will work towards that, for you. You have a right to be angry at me for all I've done, but I only hope we can put this behind us and be family again."

Calista took a slow, deep breath, before sighing. Her gaze softened as she looked to her uncle, taking a step towards him. "We've always been family. That's for certain. I know that we never talked much other than arguing and disagreements in the past. We really need to talk more like this."

"And we will. We can."

She looked him in the eye, nodding, sounding like she might cry as she said, "We can."

She leaned forwards, presumably to embrace her uncle, but that was when a hoarse, wicked laugh came from the doorway of the office.

"Oh…isn't that  _soooo_  sweet? How _delicious."_

Dagran's gaze shot towards the doorway to see one Jirall Rambaldt. The man's coat and hair were both covered in blood, his eyes a dark red, leerily gazing at the three with a hunger that shouldn't be there. He looked like he went through a shipwreck (and to be fair, the man died on a ship but still).

"Jirall," Dagran heard Calista near-strangled gasp. "Are you…?"

"With Nox?" Jirall's gaze met Calista's own, and it was then that he licked his lips. "Ohhh yes. Yes, yes, yes, I know. You know I'm with  _them,_  hm?"

"If you harm my niece," Arganan hissed, glaring right at him, "I will personally give you hell to pay."

"Ooh?" Jirall raised an eyebrow. Dagran couldn't help but think that Jirall looked more disturbing than usual. He vaguely recalled hearing from Zael, earlier, that Zael did kill Jirall himself, that Jirall was under the influence of a cursed sword at the time. Was that why? "And  _how?"_

" _Ad bellum!"_

The whip appeared in Arganan's right hand. Jirall laughed at the sight of it, shaking his head.

" _Ohhh_  I get it! You're one of the measly enemies they were telling me about! No better than peasants, bumbling about, barely sure of what to do."

"That's where you're wrong." Dagran had more than enough of Jirall. A whisper of 'ad bellum' made a sword appear in his own hands. "We  _do_ know what to do. Defeat you, Nox, and everyone else that follows Nox. Simple enough, really."

"You don't know the  _half_  of it." Jirall seethed, before shouting _, "Ad bellum!"_

A rapier appeared in Jirall's hands, bloody like the rest of him. Calista took a deep breath, readying her Holy magic, before Jirall lunged right at her, screaming.

Arganan was the first to get in Jirall's way, literally raising his whip and smacking him right across the face with it. Jirall stumbled, almost falling backwards, but he caught himself in time as he glared right back at him.

"How  _dare_  you!" The fallen nobleman stabbed forwards again, but this time Dagran got in the way, crossing swords with him. Both men's blades clashed and Dagran saw Arganan pulling Calista out of the office in the meanwhile. Smart strategy, Dagran figured, to make sure Calista was out of the crossfire. There was also more space outside the Count's office to fight in, which would help in terms of keeping space from Jirall.

Dagran felt a slice across his side, and he hissed, hearing Jirall giggle. Dagran faintly recalled hearing about Jirall's state prior to death from Zangurak. Didn't the now-deceased Gurak King end up making the man go mad? That might explain all the laughter.

That was when he realized his side stung, more than usual, compared to a normal flesh wound.

_Shit._

"You have a Star Seal on your weapon," he muttered, "don't you?"

"Clever! For an  _idiot."_  Jirall gazed right at him with the same hungry look he gave Calista and her uncle just earlier. "And after I'm done with you,  _they're next."_

* * *

"Calista, I need you to get to Zael and Therius and warn virtually everyone. Dagran and I will distract Jirall until then, or finish him off ourselves."

"But Uncle…"

"He clearly has the power of the Blood Warrior! I recognize that spell he used!" The former Count was more than determined to get his niece away from Jirall. The sooner, the better. "Please, Calista. Please, you need to get away from this, for your safety."

"Let me fight." Her eyes hardened a bit, and he opened his mouth to protest but she kept talking. "I know you want to defend me, Uncle, and I appreciate it. But if you need someone to heal, or give you some sort of defense…"

She wasn't going to budge. He couldn't stop her. Taking a quick breath, he looked towards the open doorway of his office, hearing Dagran and Jirall continuing to fight in there, and then looked to Calista, nodding once.

"Very well." He uttered. "We'll fight together, then."

As if on cue, two things happened at once. The first was Therius and Zael running over, both clearly in a hurry, but before either of them could say anything, the second thing happened—Dagran was thoroughly blasted out of the office, groaning as he hit the railing. Arganan feared the man would go right over the railing and fall all the way down, but he didn't, catching his balance and slowly getting to his feet.

"Dagran!" Zael rushed over to him. "Are you alright!?"

"I'm fine, Zael." Dagran managed, looking to him. "Jirall's here."

Arganan heard Therius almost growl as the white knight moved to stand with Calista and the former Count. "General Asthar warned me about him coming. We're too late."

"What?" Calista looked to Therius. "Asthar contacted you? But I thought.."

"I'll explain later. Asthar's not fully under Nox's control."

Jirall walked out of the office, chuckling a bit as he looked to the five. "Well, well, well…looks like the sheep came running to be slaughtered." He still had that sword in his hands, looking between Therius, Calista, and Arganan before looking to Dagran and Zael—only for his gaze to settle on Zael.

Zael swallowed. "Jirall—"

"Die, Zael!" That hallowed scream escaped the fallen noble as he lunged at Zael and Dagran both, stabbing at them.  _"Die die die die die die die!"_

Dagran managed to duck out of the way, but Zael ended up having to counter several of Jirall's attackso n the spot. Thankfully, he wasn't stabbed anywhere, save for a nick to his shoulder, as he took out his sword in time to defend himself from Jirall's attacks. Therius rushed at Jirall, only for the white knight to be blasted back by a spray of thick blood, sending him reeling into the wall.

"Zael!?" Calista shouted. "Are you alright!?"

"I'm fine!" Zael called back, before kicking Jirall in the stomach.

"Be careful!" Arganan heard Dagran shout. "Jirall's got a Star Seal on his weapon, he can harm other Blood Warriors with it as well!"

Jirall hissed, stumbling back, but then lunged forwards, tackling Zael and sending himself and Zael over the balcony.

A scream escaped Calista as she reached for Zael, but Arganan tried to grab for her, knowing too well that the momentum would just send her falling, too.

He was slightly too late to grab her. The next thing he knew was him slipping over the railing along with her, Zael and Jirall, the four plummeting towards the main floor below.

* * *

Therius' blood went cold as he saw the four fall over the balcony, a curse escaping him as he thought through all the spells Mirania and Zesha informed him about that the Blood Warrior could do. Trying to keep sight of them, he rushed down the stairs, determined not to lose them.

_What was that spell again!?_

" _Tueri!"_

The floor below the four turned red, and as they hit it, it seemed to bubble, all four people somewhat bouncing on the suddenly-malleable surface. It would at least soften their landing, and Therius could only hope that no one broke a bone.

By the time he made it to the main floor, Calista was helping Arganan get up, and Zael was already on his feet.

Jirall, meanwhile, was crumpled on the floor face down.

"Is he out?" Zael breathed, keeping a sword pointed at the fallen noble.

Therius looked to Zael, then to Jirall, before taking a few steps forward to check, sword at the ready in case the man tried anything. It was hard to tell if Jirall had actually died, or was perhaps unconscious.

He was alive.

And  _still_   _awake._

The moment Therius was a step or two closer to him, Jirall sprung to his feet and tackled Therius down. A yelp escaped the white knight as he hit the ground, grapping with Jirall wildly as the man's maddened eyes bore into his. A swift punch to the face had Therius' vision getting dots in it, but before he could fight back, a shout of something escaped Calista, Jirall literally being blasted off Therius and sliding along the ground.

"Therius!" Zael pulled Therius to his feet, looking him in the eyes. "You okay?"

Therius looked to Zael, blinking a bit so the spots went away from his vision. "I'm fine," He panted, breath a little shaky. "I'm fine."

"Curse you," Jirall snarled, getting up once more. "You won't get away with this!"

Arganan was heard groaning in the background. "How are you not dead?"

"I-I'm not as fragile as  _you_  think!" Jirall pointed at Dagran, who just got to the bottom of the stairs, with a shaky, free hand. He was limping, at this point, but he was still standing. "Nox told me everything. They told me that you all would suffer. That I'd get  _my_  chance to ruin you like you ruined me!"

Dagran tsked, shaking his head as he looked to Jirall. "Can't even answer the former Count's question, Jirall? I thought you were better than that."

"You're just a mercenary! Shut up!" Jirall sent another spray of blood towards the group, but a Holy spell came from Calista this time. As both spells met, smoke spread through the main hall, blinding Therius' vision.

"Calista!" Therius heard Zael shout. "Are you— _aaagh!"_

A 'thud' hit the ground, followed by a scream escaping Calista. Therius sensed a blast of blood come at him, and he dodged in time, only for another to hit him. Sprawling onto the ground, he heard a yelp from Dagran, the repeated sprays of blood, and then another spray of blood hit Therius again.

Therius didn't get the chance to defend himself, as another slam of his head against the floor made his vision go blurry. He tried to get up, but collapsed to his knees.

* * *

The smoke cleared.

Arganan found himself to be the only person standing, save for Jirall, who stood a few paces from him. Everyone else was sprawled on the ground, trying to get up, and he saw Therius collapsing to his knees from the corner of his eye.

_It's just me. And him._

The former Count looked Jirall in the eye, before a weak chuckle escaped him.

"Coward," He spat, "Always liking sneak attacks. I imagine Asthar must be  _so_  disappointed in your fighting style."

Jirall pointed his rapier at Arganan's throat, his lips curling into a snarl.

"Don't," Jirall hissed, "Speak  _his_  name."

"Why not?" Arganan knew better than to provoke Jirall further, but part of him reasoned that maybe the others could use it as a chance to get their own attacks in on Jirall without him noticing. Assuming they were still conscious, that is. "Because he's a better fighter than you'll ever be?"

A harrowed yell escaped Jirall as he stabbed at the former Count, but Arganan barely ducked out of the way. Unfortunately, he ended up tripping over his own feet, ending up with himself on the ground. JIrall laughed, getting down on a knee to face him, before pointing the sword at his throat.

A yell of "no" came from Calista nearby, and Arganan turned his head to see Calista throw a blast of Holy magic at Jirall. Jirall said something that Arganan didn't recognize, and a spray of blood shot the attack back at Calista, sending her into a wall.

Arganan's world stopped for a moment as he saw his niece slowly slide onto the ground, a weak and pained moan escaping her lips.

Turning his head to face Jirall, fury rose within him. Using the momentum of sitting up to help, he managed to unsheathe his sword and stab Jirall in the chest, straight through the back.

He heard Dagran gasp, weakly, from one corner. "Lucius?!"

Jirall stared at Arganan, mouth wide, before he burst into another laugh.

"You  _don't_  have a fucking Star Seal on your weapon! This is nothing but a tickle!"

"No." Arganan managed, raising an eyebrow. "You're right. But…it's not my usual weapon I summon when I used the spell earlier, either. I used a  _whip_ during then, you fool."

Jirall's eyes widened, but not in the good way. "Y-you…" He gasped, "You mean.."

"Just a regular sword." Arganan smirked, gazing him right in the eye. "I don't need a Star-Sealed weapon to kill you, apparently. That's quite convenient, isn't it?"

With that being said, he twisted the blade in the man's chest, hearing Jirall cry out in pain. Keeping the blade inside the man, he used his sword to help himself stand, forcing Jirall to stay on his knees. He then looked him in the eye again, before speaking, his voice turning cold, but sure.

"We're stronger than you think. And you are  _never_  hurting my niece ever again."

With that said, he pulled the blade out. Jirall gasped and choked, falling face forwards. He tried to get up, but the bleeding was too much. The fallen nobleman gazed upwards, only for his eyes to close—this time, for good.

Arganan took a slow, deep breath, as he gazed at the corpse he just made. He then looked to Calista, wincing as he felt himself limp over to her. He knew he'd dropped his cane earlier in the fight, so he used his sword to help him keep balance for now.

"Calista?" He got on a knee beside her, checking for a pulse. She was still breathing, still conscious, but bloody. "Calista!? Can you hear me?"

No response. Then, he saw her eyelids flutter open, just a bit. "U-uncle…?"

"Calista." He put his sword down, his now free hand coming up to brush hair out of her face. "You're going to be alright, I promise. I'm not leaving you."

"Uncle…" She smiled, faintly, lifting a hand to try to touch his, but then it fell to her side. "Th-thank…you."

The shout of other Lazulis knights and mages caught his attention, and he looked to them, wide-eyed.

"Attend to my niece," he ordered, finding a new command in the tone of his words, "immediately. And bring her to the hospital wing!"

He wasn't going to let her die. Not now. Not when they had a chance to make things right again.

* * *

Calista was carried off to the hospital wing, and Zael followed the mages and knights taking her there to make sure she was okay. Therius also told the former Count to go with Zael and Calista. The white knight had a feeling that the family should all stick together. Therius and Dagran, meanwhile, stayed behind to check on Jirall's body.

"Jirall isn't turning into blood?" Therius noted. "That's new."

Dagran frowned, getting on a knee to inspect Jirall's corpse. "Jirall wasn't as skilled as Cassius or Ulrica. The state he was in prior to death didn't help, either. He wasn't powerful enough to have Blood Creatures obeying him."

"Wait." Therius looked to Dagran. "You're saying…if you have Blood Creatures obeying you, then…"

"You know of how Blood Warriors were 'baptized' by Blood Creatures? That's why they turn into blood when they die, especially if that death is a violent one. Jirall wasn't 'baptized' in the same way. Nox brought him back themselves…and they did the same with me. I suspect it might be the same with Asthar, too. If we die, our corpses will still be here."

Before Dagran could say anything further, blood began to pool from Jirall's corpse…before it began to lump together, sliding along the floor and leaving a long stain. Therius stared, watching, before Dagran spoke up.

"The former Count killed him, right? The power's going to go to him."

Therius looked to the travelling blood, only to realize that the main blob was long gone, but the stain. "Should we run ahead and warn him? I don't think Arganan knows…"

"Too late." Dagran waved a hand dismissively. "It's probably—"

A chorus of screams rang from, presumably, the hospital wing. Dagran chuckled, faintly.

"Thought that might happen."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Tueri" apparently means "to protect" in Latin, as far as I could find from a bunch of translation sites online, but to those who know Latin, please feel absolutely free to correct me if I have it wrong.


	16. Shifting Priorities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Therius checks on Calista and Zael, Arganan and Dagran make up and make out, and Zesha's sick of sitting in the castle.

"Is Lady Calista alright—?"

The question escaped Therius' lips as soon as he entered the room where Calista and Zael were, and it was only as he entered said room that he realized Calista was, currently, awake in bed. Zael had fallen asleep as he sat by her bedside, his head gently leaning against her shoulder. Therius watched both the current Countess and Count quietly, saying nothing else until Calista looked to him.

"I will be fine, Therius." Her voice was a little hoarse, but he could heard her despite it. "I'm just…thankful, you and my uncle stopped him. I didn't expect him to come back."

"Thank General Asthar." The white knight managed, swallowing. "He warned me in a dream just previously."

Her eyes widened at that. "He…he's alright?"

"He's not entirely under Nox's control. At least, not mentally. Physically, yes, but…" Therius bit his lower lip briefly, before shaking his head, remembering Asthar's last words.

_Wake up._

Therius couldn't stop himself from shuddering at the memory. "The Blood Creatures told me to sleep, and when I did, I found myself talking to Asthar. He was relieved that Mirania is alright." He made the mental note to pass on this information to Mirania. Perhaps she might know more about the mental communication between Blood Warriors in her research. "He also mentioned that Nox resurrected Jirall and one other person…and now that we defeated Jirall, we just have the one person. We just don't know who."

Calista nodded slowly, taking a deep breath as she looked to her sleeping husband, then to Therius again. "I see." Her voice went a little soft, but then rose as she asked, "Do you know where Asthar is? Or did he give any hints as of how to free him?"

"He didn't get the chance to tell me any of that. I think Nox was trying to regain control over him before I woke up, Lady Calista."

_What if the next time I see him, he's fully under Nox's control? What then?_

Therius could only hope that Asthar still fought Nox's control even now. The General was never a man to give up; defiant against his enemy to the end.

But how much longer could Asthar deny Nox of full control?

* * *

"I thought you were going to die."

"I thought  _you_  would die."

Dagran knew that Arganan would be pissed about being covered in blood shortly after killing Jirall, especially since the blood basically followed him all the way to the hospital wing. Dagran expected to walk in, see Arganan swearing like a sailor about how his clothes were ruined and how this would not be comforting to himself or his niece while sleeping tonight.

He didn't expect Arganan, completely covered in blood and  _not giving a shit about how he looked right now,_ walk up to Dagran and almost— _almost_ —roughly grab him by the arm. Dagran watched as the former Count faltered, hand outstretched towards his right arm, then he lowered his arm entirely, looking into his eyes with his working one. Both men stood there in silence, and Dagran noticed, from the corner of his eye, Therius going to the room of the hospital wing where he presumed Zael and Calista would be.

"I just got you back," The older man murmured, shaking his head before looking Dagran in the ey again. "I just got you back, and you were going to fucking  _die_  if I didn't do anything. You and Calista, Zael, Therius, and…"

"We're alive, Lucius." Dagran stated, staring right back at him. "That's what matters."

The blood dripped over Arganan's face, and the older man ripped off the large eyepatch usually covering the scarred side of his face. Dagran noticed the blood dripping onto the scars, but Arganan shuddered, wiping his face as best as he could with his own eyepatch. "We were lucky Jirall didn't kill us."

"Because you took the initiative to kill Jirall yourself." Dagran replied. "You can't always wait for someone else to do the work."

Arganan went quiet, pausing in wiping his face, and Dagran observed the man thinking. The older man was always so quiet when lost in thought, honestly. It made him seem a little endearing.

"Is this how you lived?" Arganan finally asked.

"More or less." It reminded Dagran about his past days, before he and the others came tl"Living on the edge of a knife. That's how I lived my life up until the end. Never knowing if the next day is your last."

"Just surviving." Arganan finally concluded.

Dagran nodded. "Just surviving."

" _Fuck_  surviving."

Dagran had to blink a few times. Did the former Count just…?

Arganan looked him in the eye. "If we're going to get out of this Blood Warrior mess with Nox and everything, I want to do more than just survive."

Dagran couldn't help but smile, taking a step closer to him. "Thought you might say that."

Without another word, Arganan pulled him in for a kiss, Dagran welcoming it as his arms wrapped around the older man's waist.

"Damn it," Dagran muttered between kisses, "You need a bath."

He heard Arganan laugh. "Only if you join me. _All_  the way through, this time!"

Dagran couldn't help but smirk. "Demanding even now, hm?"

" _You_  like it." Arganan pointed out, before kissing him again.

Dagran laughed. "True. I do."

* * *

Zesha sat in the library, reading what must be the thirtieth book today. He heard about the attack from Jirall, that the others had stopped him, and he was glad that man was dead.

He just wasn't sure what he could do. The many books littering the table he sat at had barely anything of use. He thought, perhaps, he could supplement help through research. He was decent at it (though Zepha was better) and—

"Lord Zesha?"

He looked up to see Mirania stand beside him, a tray of what appeared to be a small teapot and teacups in her hands.

He stared right back at her. "I don't recall food being permitted in the library."

She sighed. "It's not. I just thought you might need something to eat or drink. I couldn't sneak in the cookies, but the librarian let me bring the tea in." Mirania paused, then shoved the tray towards him, giving him a soft look. "The Gurak won't have a ruler if their ruler starves themselves to death. You need to take care of yourself, too."

Zesha paused, looking to the tea, then to her, nodding once. "I'll have some."

The two poured themselves some tea (he let Mirania have her cup first) before Zesha gratefully took a sip. He found it odd, how they used to be enemies, and now here they were, drinking tea as if they were old friends. He had a feeling that strangeness would never go away. Being previously used to the notions of destroying all the humans did that to you.

"Have you found anything?" Mirania asked, after a few moments. Her eyes wandered to the pile of books on the table, then towards him.

Zesha shook his head. "Nothing. And I'm still curious about," He pointed to the book they bled on earlier, "That book. There has to be a way to accelerate us gaining information without needing to spill tons of blood."

"What about the Blood Creatures?" Mirania suggested. "They're different beings."

"I tried summoning one earlier to do just that. There's no effect." The King of the Gurak couldn't help the grim chuckle following. "And I doubt we can just go around cutting people's fingers to have them drip blood on the pages."

Mirania paled, just as she took a sip of tea. "Definitely not."

"I'm not actually going to do it, Miss Mirania." Zesha snipped back, before sipping his tea. "Do you consider me so reckless?"

He knew what she was thinking—probably a yes to answer that. He did, after all, almost kill her, Zael, and the others for killing his brother Zepha. But was it really recklessness when it was justified vengeance?

…This was getting on his nerves, thinking of all of that.

"I need to go out."

"Where?"

Zesha gave her a look. "Into the castle town. Perhaps even the outskirts."

"But what about our training?" She gestured to the books. "What about the research?"

"There is only so much books can do." Zesha stood from his seat, looking her in the eyes. "And there's only so much I can do without going mad, sitting in this castle all day. I don't get how the rest of you do it."

_I don't understand how Lord Zangurak did it._

Granted, Zangurak wasn't always in the Gurak Fortress. The late King had personally went to Lazulis, down into the Last World, to try to harness the power of the Outsider. But he did do a lot of decision making and military strategy back at the Gurak Continent, that was for sure.

It was at times like these that Zesha wished Zangurak and Zepha were alive, or at least Zepha. Zepha was much more patient at him at looking through books and staying in buildings. He supposed it made sense, given that Zepha was more magic-focused as opposed to Zesha, whose style was straight up brute force and bolt arrows. Zepha had always been more of an indoors person than Zesha in the first place, too.

And now the castle walls drove him mad, to an extent. The current Gurak King couldn't stand being inside Lazulis Castle before.

"Maybe something will come to mind if I am out there." Zesha stated. "And I'm not letting anyone stop me."

Without another word, he moved towards the library exit.

"Lord Zesha!"

He turned towards Mirania, glaring.  _"What?"_

He saw her flinch, and he swallowed briefly. But then he saw her flinch dissolve into a firm gaze.

"Let me come with you. Please."

"Oh?" Zesha raised an eyebrow. "And what about our research? The training?"

She looked him completely in the eyes, voice turning a bit calmer. "You said there was only so much either of those things can do. And I'm a nature mage. Maybe I can help you find something of use, while we're out there."

There was a certain fire in her eyes he hadn't really seen before.

Zesha couldn't help but grin.

"Come along, then. We have much to explore."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Therius tries contacting Asthar again. Meanwhile, Zesha and Mirania look for clues in the city and outskirts, and find more than expected.


	17. Another Warrior

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Therius talks to Asthar again. Zesha and Mirania end up competing in the Arena to find a clue.

Therius found himself falling asleep faster, this time.

He wasn't sure why. Was it from using his powers in the fight against Jirall? Or just because of everything going on?

" _Therius."_

Therius opened his eyes, and he saw Asthar standing in front of him.

"General Asthar." The white knight forced himself to breathe. The older man looked mostly fine. A little shaken up, given the frown on his face, but otherwise fine. "Are you alright?"

"I'm…mostly fine. I managed to get Nox out of my head for the time being." Asthar looked around, then to the younger man again. "What about you and the others? What about Jirall?"

"Jirall's dead. The former Count killed him."

"I see." Asthar swallowed. "That explains what I felt earlier."

Therius blinked. "What do you mean, what you felt?"

Asthar looked up at him, making eye contact. "When Nox tried to take over me, I had to use my own willpower to stop them. There was a constant tension and pain I felt. When Nox finally let go it felt sudden, but it was as if my head suddenly felt lighter for a moment. Next thing I knew, Nox was gone."

Therius swallowed. "Perhaps Nox was using Jirall's attacking us as a way to also amplify their powers against you, and us killing Jirall stopped that?"

"That's one theory. Another one is…" Asthar paused, before continuing, grimacing. "I've felt it before. It's not unfamiliar. When Arganan rebelled against Nox successfully, for instance, I felt the same way. That's how I was able to warn you all when we first reunited, before Cassius took me away."

Therius thought back to the first battle with Cassius, and he gritted his teeth.  _Never again._

"Maybe," Therius finally stated, forcing his jaw to relax, "The more of Nox's minions we defeat, the more likely we'll free you completely. Could that be it?"

"I was going to say that the more you defeat Nox's minions, the more powerful the remaining ones get."

Everything seemed to stop, just for a moment, as Therius took that in.

Now that he thought about it, Ulrica had been more powerful than Cassius. Jirall, too.

"So," Therius started, "The blood going up around me after I killed Ulrica…"

"That's a sign of you getting more powerful."

"But shouldn't that happen to  _everyone else_ with the Blood Warrior's marks, then? Getting covered in blood every time you fully defeat or kill a Blood Warrior?" Therius shuddered, thinking of seeing everyone who was a Blood Warrior drenched in blood. It was jarring enough, seeing Arganan in such a state at the hospital wing earlier. "That can't be good for clothing changes."

Asthar shook his head. "The one that defeats the defeated gains the most. But I think everyone else gets a little additional power. Not as much as you would when completely defeating a Blood Warrior, but it's still something."

Therius frowned, thinking of the Blood Creatures that hung around Zesha and Argaann from time to time. "Does that explain the increasing amount of Blood Creatures around everyone else?"

"That might." Asthar paused, looking around one more time, before finally speaking. "I know of someone else that escaped Nox's control quite recently, thanks you to killing Jirall. But Nox is angry. They want to get them back."

Therius raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

"It's…"

* * *

Lazulis City seemingly larger than it looked. Zesha knew that from past experience. The twisting alleys and the well-celebrated Arena added to that, as well as the port area used for traders and merchants alike to come in. He'd dressed in clothing that was not so kingly, and more common among fellow Gurak—a basic tunic, pants with boots and a cloak covering him shoulders down. He'd tied his hair back so it wouldn't fall in front of his vision, and he used the hood of his cloak to obscure his face. Being King of the Gurak, or any sort of noble, always made you more noticeable.

Zesha never liked being noticeable. If Zepha were alive, he figured his twin would do a better job of being fine in the spotlight. Zesha, not so much. He preferred staying back in the shadows. Of course, he didn't mind taking out both of swords to down the enemy, but that was different from being in public display, such as a festival or out in public in general.

_How laughable,_  he thought, that  _I'm the one that is the new King._

For his discomfort, it was a small sacrifice to make sure he did well for his people. He thought of the Gurak Continent again, frowning.

Now that Cerin, Ulrica, and Jirall were dead, it was less likely that Nox had a hold over the entire Gurak Continent without those three among their forces. Zesha earlier requested to Calista, prior to fully leaving the castle with Mirania, to dispatch a few spies to the Gurak Continent and see how things were. Calista obliged in doing so, knowing well that it was best to keep as good as an eye on the Gurak Continent as they could, in hopes of finding an opportunity for Zesha to retake it.

What Calista didn't know was that Zesha sent a Blood Creature or two to act as scouts. He'd learned to do that from his research with Mirania. It was something he neglected to tell the others during training, but he knew that having too many Blood Creatures floating about at a time sent by the others might be too disturbing, at best. Besides, if his Blood Creatures would blend in with the others possibly present at the Gurak Continent due to Nox's control, then it wouldn't seem too out of place for them to be there. A few was better than too many.

Until they learned as of how the Continent was doing, all they could do was wait.

"Zesha?"

He looked to Mirania, who currently ate the third sweet bun in a row. "Yes?"

She extended one of the sweet buns to him. "Do you want one?"

Zesha stared at the bun, then at her, then nodded, taking it. "Yes. Thank you."

He took a bite, after a moment. There was custard in the filling, and it tasted of mild coconut. Not bad, he admitted internally.

A soft giggle escaped Mirania, and he stared at her. "What?"

"It's just that you look like you've never had one of these before!"

"That's because I haven't had one of these before."

Mirania went silent.

Zesha gave her a small look. "We did not have much to eat in the Gurak Continent, previously. It was a miracle we had enough rations for the soldiers, at times."

"Oh." She swallowed. "I'm sorry."

"Your ignorance is forgiven." He took another bite of his sweet bun, savouring the taste before swallowing and asking, "Did you ever know what it was like, experiencing a deep loss?"

"I lost the Forest Guardian that raised me."

He looked to her. "You have no parentage?"

"I don't really know." She shook her head, frowning. "All I knew was the Forest Guardian when I was younger. And then she died, due to the land's decay. I only started journeying from the forest after that, and then I met Zael and the others. The rest is history."

Zesha finished his sweet bun, before finally managing, "Condolences. For your guardian."

"It's okay. You didn't know." Her soft, reassuring smile eased him from feeling too bad about that, but it still lingered for a moment.

The sound of cheers came up from up ahead.

"The Champion won again!?"

"That's amazing!"

"What's under that hood and mask of theirs…?"

Mirania looked to the nearest person. "Excuse me, but what is going on?"

"Ah! Young lady!" The person looked to her. "There's been a long-reigning Champion in the Arena! He's beaten nearly every single monster we've got."

"He wields  _blood_ as a weapon." One woman hissed. "I don't know how he does it!"

Zesha looked to Mirania. "Blood? Do you think…?"

"Another one of Nox's subordinates?" Mirania finally asked. She swallowed at thinking of seeing another Blood Warrior in the area. "Do you think we should check it out?"

Zesha looked about to say yes, but faltered. "We can't take battling a Blood Warrior lightly. You  _know_ what happened with Cerin and virtually everyone else we've fought so far!"

"We can at least watch the battle, right?" The nature mage urged. "Maybe we can recognize them from afar."

"Or," Zesha paused, looking at himself, then towards her, "We fight them directly."

"What?" Her eyes widened. "But you just said‒"

"Last I checked, you implied you considered me to be reckless. This is me being reckless. No one will realize I'm the King of the Gurak, not the way I'm dressed. This is a perfect cover for us to investigate."

"And if things turn for the worse?"

"We surrender, suffer a blow to our pride and walk away alive."

Before Mirania could speak up, someone else did.

"What's this abou' suffering blows to pride?"

Mirania and Zesha both turned to see none other than Syrenne, Lowell, and Yurick approach. "Syrenne, Lowell, Yurick‒You're here?"

"We heard about a Champion competing." Yurick managed. "We didn't expect to see you two here."

"Well…" Zesha scanned the other three. "This is quite convenient. Mirania and I were about to just enter the competition. Are you three competing with us, or against us?"

"We can only have teams of four." Yurick pointed out. "One of us has to stay out and watch."

Syrenne shrugged, taking a step back. "I think I'll stay back this time."

"You're not fighting, Syrenne?" Zesha noticed Mirania's frown. "Why not?"

The red-haired woman laughed, sticking out her tongue a little. "Only to see  _you_ all get your arses kicked if you really mess up without me! I bet ten gold that Lowell's out first!"

"Hey!" Lowell protested. "I'm not  _that_ bad!"

Zesha couldn't help but smile just a bit.

"We have four of us, then. Perfect."

* * *

Mirania was puzzled. As she, Lowell, Zesha and Yurick lined up to enter the Arena, she couldn't help but turn to Lowell and ask, "Why isn't Syrenne competing? Is it really because of the bet, or…?"

Lowell looked left and right, then leaned towards Mirania,

"I know Syrenne isn't showing yet, but," Lowell managed, keeping his voice low, "We passed the first trimester last week, and she's been a bit sick since earlier today. Probably for the best that she stays out of this."

"What?" It struck Mirania right then and there. "You mean you and Syrenne are expecting…?"

"Shhhh, Mirania." He put a finger to his lips, offering her a grin. "Don't tell the others yet, we've got plans to tell them in a bit."

Mirania nodded, offering him a grin. "Yeah. I got it."

It wasn't often they all fought together in the Arena anymore, especially given how Zael was now technically the Count of Lazulis and all. Syrenne and Lowell had stuck around within the city, working with Ariela to run the tavern after Ariela's father Kent officially retired, and Yurick had stuck around to help teach the little children mages after briefly returning to his home village and clearing his father's name. Mirania herself had stuck around in the city to help as both a healer and researcher.

_And,_  she looked to Zesha, seeing the focus in his gaze as the gates before them opened to enter the battlefield,  _he's King of the Gurak now._

" _Team Mirania is ready for battle!"_  The announcer boomed through the loudspeakers.  _"And how will they fare today!?"_

Though it was named 'Team Mirania,' it was only because 1. Zael wasn't there and 2. Zesha couldn't give himself away. Sure, they could have named it Team Lowell but 3. It was Mirania and Zesha's plan to enter the competition from the beginning to encounter the supposed Champion so therefore 4. Team Mirania it was. No one really minded (except for Lowell, but only a tiny bit).

There were the expected creatures; the spiders, that Yurick quickly took out, the giant ogre that Lowell shot an ice spell at. Mirania cast healing circles as much as she could, and she noticed Zesha go straight into battle with both swords at the ready, sneaking over to the archers and taking them out. And then…

" _The Champion has entered the battlefield!"_

"What!?" She heard Yurick shout. "I thought only the four of us were allowed in this round!"

A fire spell came hurtling towards the spider about to attack Mirania, followed up by a red light that made it screech in pain before collapsing entirely.

It took Mirania a moment to realize that the red light wasn't a light. It was a literal ray of blood.

_The next Blood Warrior is here._

* * *

Therius burst into Calista and Zael's office. "Lady Calista? Zael? I need to speak with you, now!"

Zael jumped up from his seat, likely talking with Calista until Therius came in. "What is it? What's the matter?"

"It's Asthar." Therius managed. "I managed to contact him again, and he said there's another Blood Warrior here in the city."

"What?" Calista stood up from her seat, nearly freezing in place otherwise. "How?"

"Asthar said that they escaped Nox's control." The white knight explained. "But Nox wants them back. We need to find him as soon as possible."

"I can help search," Calista suggested, after a moment. "Zael, too…" She looked to Zael. "Could you find Dagran and my uncle? Maybe we can all search for this person together."

"What about us?" Dagran and Arganan both came into the office, clothing clearly disheveled despite their best attempts to neaten it up. Dagran's hair was messier than usual, and Arganan lacked his usual coat and scarf, with his waistcoat buttoned not-quite-perfectly overtop his white shirt.

Therius stared. "What were you two up to?"

Dagran and Arganan both exchanged glances, before Arganan cleared his throat and managed, "research."

Therius knew that was a blatant lie, given the faint bruises on Dagran's neck. "Never mind. I don't want to know."

Arganan looked like he might bury his almost-reddening face in one hand, but instead cleared his throat. "What is this about another Blood Warrior? How many more  _are_  there?"

"There's one in the city, according to Asthar." Therius managed, trying his best to ignore the messy states of the two men before him. "We need to find him before Nox takes control of him again."

"Wait, so, one of Nox's own subordinates went against him?" Dagran frowned. "It seems like Nox is losing all their power."

"Asthar thinks it might be because of us defeating all the other subordinates. The more we defeat, the more powerful everyone gets, not just the one who gave them the finishing blow."

"But then," Zael finally burst out, "Who is it, Therius? Who's this next Blood Warrior?"

* * *

Zesha turned around to see a figure stand there, dressed in dark robes, with familiar-looking armor worn along with them. The hood of their robes obscured the figure's face. As one of the enemy archers earlier released on the battlefield shot at them, the figure waved a hand and cast a blue forcefield, making the arrows bounce back at the enemies.

_It can't be._

Zesha's blood went cold as he shouted out.

" _Zepha!?"_

The figure whirled around as the shield faded, before pulling off their hood. Their long, shoulder-length hair was the same shade as Zesha's own, and the mask they wore was metal, obscuring their face.

But then the figure pulled off the mask, throwing it to the side looking Zesha in the eyes, before they smiled.

"I thought you'd finally come find me…Zesha."


	18. Nox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two brothers reunite, but Nox unfortunately ruins it.

"Zepha!"

Zesha called out to him again. His twin brother vanished from view, only to suddenly reappear right in front of him.

"My brother." Zepha raised a hand, and carefully laid it on his shoulder as his breath caught in his throat, "You're here. You finally came."

"Zepha, I…" Zesha forgot in that moment that they were in a battle, forgot that there were others clearly watching, because it was just the two of them in that instant.

Zesha embraced his brother tightly. He felt his twin heave a choked gasp, startled by the suddenness of it all most likely, but Zesha didn't care at the moment.

Not until Zepha pinched his arm with one hand.

"Zesha." Zepha's voice came out hoarse, just for a moment. "Too tight."

"Right." Zesha hesitantly let go. "Sorry. I'm just glad to see you..."

Zepha shook his head. "There is no need to apologize, brother." There was a faint smile on his lips as he looked his twin in the eyes, their gaze burning as brightly as Zesha remembered of him. "I missed you, too."

"Um, guys," Yurick started, and both twins looked to him as he spoke up, "I hate to cut this reunion short, but we have company!"

Turning their heads in the direction Yurick pointed a charging fire spell at, both of them immediately realized there were many more Reptids and creatures to fight. Zesha heard Zepha chuckle, before starting to charge up a shield spell.

"Cover me, brother?"

Zepha sounded full of a life that Zesha hadn't heard in his voice for ages. Not since they were there for Zangurak uniting the Gurak Continent officially, not since the first time they had hope of going against the humans of Lazulis in the first place.

This hope was a little different; it was the hope of being together again, fighting alongside each other like they always did in the past for all their lives.

* * *

After the dust cleared and they were declared the winners in the Arena for the day, Zesha stayed closer to his brother's side.

"Have you been in the city for long?" Zesha asked.

Zepha shook his head. "Only for a few days. I thought fighting in the Arena would give me enough cover."

Fair point, Zesha guessed, given that there were both Gurak and human teams of fighters that regularly fought in the Arena. Another Gurak wouldn't have made much of a difference.

"I'm surprised you using your Blood Warrior abilities didn't give you any attention until now, though." Zesha managed. "If I were Nox, I would have…"

And then he saw his brother freeze in place, blanching, before suddenly pointing ahead.

"It's them."

Zesha looked up ahead to see a hooded figure. Their long cloak obscured them, reaching the ground, but they had to be almost as tall as the twin brothers. It was hard to see their face, but then they outstretched a hand with the Blood Warrior's mark on it.

Zesha let out a yell, just as they fired red light at them.

" _Down!"_

Mirania, Syrenne, Yurick and Lowell all quickly ran out of the way, but Zesha tackled down Zepha, both of them hitting the ground. The red light flew above their heads, hitting the entrance to the Arena doors in a burst of smoke. The citizens of Lazulis screamed and ran,

Zesha looked up from where he was on the ground, gazing up at the new foe up ahead. Blood Creatures surrounded the hooded figure in front of him, more than ten from a quick count, but there was something very off about his person, other than the obvious Blood Warrior's mark on their hand.

The hooded figure did not take off their hood yet, but the voice that came from it sounded…whispery, yet oddly clear. A deep chuckle escaped them, before they spoke, facing Zesha and Zepha completely.

" _ **I've been expecting you."**_

* * *

Mirania looked to the figure, then to Zesha hastily pulling Zepha to his feet. She saw the figure fire another red light at the two, and she immediately sprung into action, casting a Forest spell to counter. The green light of her spell connected with the red light, causing more smoke to fill the air, and Mirania coughed as it blinded her vision and invaded her lungs. She felt a rough hand grab her upper arm, and she turned to punch who it was, only to realize it was Lowell.

"Is that," Lowell looked to the figure, "Is that the guy you're all trying to take down? Nox?"

Mirania swallowed as best as she could. "I don't know…Zepha?" She called.

Zepha managed to get by Mirania's side, hissing a bit as Zesha also got to their side. "That's definitely Nox. Looks like they found me."

"Found you!?" Mirania turned to face him. "You never said you were being hunted!"

"I escaped Nox." Zepha glared at her. "One can infer that I'm indeed being hunted afterwards."

Zesha scowled, summoning a Bolt Arrow to throw at Nox. "We'll argue about this later. Right now, we need to make sure Nox  _doesn't_  kill us all."

"The citizens—" Mirania managed to take a close look around. "Is there someone that can make a barrier to enclose us so no one gets hurt!?"

Zepha's eyes glowed as he slowly rose in the air, presumably to cast a spell. "I will handle it. The rest of you handle Nox!"

Mirania started summoning her own healing circle as Lowell immediately started ushering Syrenne away. Knowing too well how badly things could go if she was caught in the crossfire, she looked to Yurick.

"Yurick! Use your magic against Nox!"

Yurick nodded, starting to charge up a fire spell. Walls of blue light formed around herself, Yurick, Zepha, Zesha, and Nox, curving up towards the top to form a domelike structure. Even as Lowell and Syrenne passed through the barrier, one of the blasts of red light Nox sent towards them didn't make it through, deflecting off the barrier and hurtling right back at Nox. Nox teleported away before it could hit them, however, and the light just faded.

"At least no civilians are getting hurt." Mirania overheard Zepha mutter. "Not unless I get knocked out. That's the only way.'

"I need you to focus on defense and healing, okay?" Mirania asked, looking to him. She recalled the past battle she, Zael, and Yurick had against him, where he continuously formed those shields in addition to using his attack spells and swords. "I'll focus on healing when I can, too. None of the rest of us are healing mages."

Zepha looked to her, and at first she thought he glared at her. But then she saw him nod, reluctantly, before casting another spell. Soft light came around Mirania in a circle, similar to Calista's reflect spell.

Good timing, too, given that one of the spells Nox cast ended up bouncing off the barrier around Mirania instead of directly hitting her.

"You're welcome, human," Zepha hissed, before two Blood Creatures came flying at him on Nox's command. Mirania saw Zesha's eyes glow as she cast the healing spell, before the two Blood Creatures started holding their heads, screeching in agony.

"Brother!?" Zesha just sidestepped several of the Blood Creatures Nox sent towards him. "What are you…?"

"Try to use your will over them!  _Persuade_ them!"

Zesha had no chance to use any persuasion whatsoever. Nox stepped forwards, raising up a wall of blood to block Lowell and Yurick's ice and fire spells, making them disappear, before lowing the wall just enough so they could fire another blast of red light. Mirania ducked out of the way, but Yurick's pained cries made it clear enough he didn't make it.

"Yurick!"

She turned to see Yurick collapsing to the ground. Several Blood Creatures threw themselves at him, intending to feed, but that was when Zepha, of all people, stood between himself and Yurick. The Blood Creatures enveloped him, and Zesha's panicked screaming rang from nearby.

That was when the Blood Creatures surrounding Zepha suddenly froze on the spot. Their lithe, pale bodies glowed red, as well as the blood splattering their beings.

They all then turned, eyes glowing red, towards Nox, and launched themselves at them this time. Despite Nox's screaming, all Mirania could see was Zepha's eyes glowing.

Looking just to her left, Mirania saw that Zesha's eyes glowed red, too. Deciding she would ask about it later, she rushed to Yurick, casting a healing spell on him. Yurick shuddered as he got up, looking to her.

"Th-thanks." He looked shaken, but otherwise fine. Mirania decided to focus on healing right now.

_I have to ask Zepha about that ability. I haven't seen that before in the books._

* * *

Zepha and Zesha both advanced on Nox, knowing their shared enemy was distracted by the Blood Creatures trying to feast on Nox on the brothers' commands. Zesha knew that if one of them could get a hit on Nox, maybe they could capture them. Or get close enough to discover a true weakness, find out where the Blood Warrior's mark was on their body so they could stab them there.

Just as they were a stone's throw away from Nox, however, an aura of red light appeared around Nox, and the Blood Creatures were thrown back, screeching. Nox stood, cloak in tatters, but the hood was intact, still obscuring their face. Zesha noticed the variety of rings on their fingers, even as they dripped with blood. Given how differently shaped each of the rings were, with some of them looking like diamonds while the others were a variety of different, colourful stones (albeit bloodstained of course), Zesha wouldn't be surprised if they came from past opponents.

Perhaps they were a way to keep track of fallen past Blood Warriors. The thought of _that_  made Zesha shudder.

"Give it up, Nox." Zepha growled, eyes glowing red. "You took our people and our land. There's too many of us here against you!"

Nox shook their head.

" _It would be a shame for our battle to end so soon."_  Their voice was softer than earlier, but still wispy and echoing _. "And I will need the Continent for longer."_

Zesha felt the fire within him, and immediately he summoned his Bolt Arrows. "We're taking back what belongs to us, bitch."

With that, he fired. Nox had no chance to dodge, pierced through completely. They staggered a bit, and Zesha thought they would collapse.

Instead, Nox let out a hallowed laugh.

Zesha heard Zepha curse. "What now?"

Nox's eyes glowed, and all the Bolt Arrows disappeared from their person—

Only for them to reappear, dripping with blood, before launching themselves back at the Gurak brothers.

Zesha barely had enough time to react, tackling down Zepha. Both brothers hit the ground, and a loud crack was heard as the defensive dome Zepha made earlier shattered, as if it were fragile china. As the pieces of the dome hit the ground, they vanished into light before they could hit any bystanders that were outside the dome and watching the battle.

"Brother." Zesha heard Zepha cough. "You okay?"

Zesha pulled Zepha to his feet quickly after getting off him, getting up himself. "I'm fine. You?"

"Mostly unharmed." Zepha looked towards where Nox was, and Zesha looked to where the enemy was as well.

Unfortunately for the brothers, Nox was gone. They saw the Blood Creatures retreating as well, either vanishing into thin air or floating into the open air before vanishing there.

"Zesha? Zepha?"

Both of them turned to see Mirania rush over, Yurick at her side. "You okay?"

"Yes." Zesha managed. "And you?"

"I…" She looked around, catching her breath, before looking to him again, "I'm fine."

"Hey, Lowell?" Yurick turned to face the ice mage approaching. "You and Syrenne okay?"

"Syrenne's fine. I'm fine, too." Lowell made a face as he stretched his arms a bit. "A bit sore, but none of those Blood Creatures touched me."

"They almost got me." Yurick then stared towards Zepha, incredulous. "And…you saved me?"

Zesha watched his twin frown, looking to him. "I don't forget the fact that you murdered me with a fireball embedded with a dagger, human." Zepha hissed, looking the fire mage in the eyes. Zesha saw Yurick swallow, just before Zepha continued speaking. "However, I  _will_ respect my brother's wishes to not harm you or any of the other humans here, given our peace treaty I heard about, as well as our shared foe to defeat as of currently. Fair?"

Yurick could only give a firm nod, trying his best to stay calm. "Understood."

"We should head to Lazulis Castle." Zesha finally managed, looking from Yurick, to Mirania, and then to Zepha. "We need to tell the others."

Zepha could only stare. "How many more Blood Warriors are on your side? Other than you, Arganan and Therius that I know of?"

Zesha could only laugh. "Definitely  _more."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: The Blood Warriors congregate and try figuring out how best to beat Nox, while planning to retake the Gurak Continent.


	19. Other Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party is in a bind as of what to do about Nox, and talk out what to do next.

"Nox was in the city?"

Mirania could only nod. "Yes. They attacked us, and we tried to defeat them, but…they got away."

Therius could hardly believe it. It was one thing for Nox to send their minions. They'd done that before with Cerin, Ulrica and then Jirall.

But Nox, in the flesh? Why?

Not only that, but Zepha was back, too. The white knight wearily gazed towards Zepha standing by Zesha's side. Zepha glanced towards Therius, briefly, but his attention was mostly on Zesha beside him otherwise.

"So, that makes seven Blood Warriors in total that we know of other than you, Therius." Zael managed. "Zesha, Zepha, Dagran, the former Count, General Asthar and Nox."

"Speaking of Dagran and the former Count…" Lowell looked around. "Shouldn't they be here to discuss about this?"

Therius saw Calista blanch. "What if Nox is trying to corner them now like Ulrica tried to, earlier? We need to find—"

_That_ was when the former Count Arganan and Dagran walked in. Arganan's hair was hastily tied back in an attempt to be neatened, but that only served to expose a few not-too-covered-up little bruises on the side of neck peeking through the  _really_ hastily-thrown-on scarf. Dagran didn't look too much neater, either, given that his shirt currently lacked a button, the collar of his vest in disarray. Both men exchanged awkward glances with each other, before

Zesha blinked, staring at the former Count and Dagran. "Why are you two in such a…? Did you get into a fight?"

Lowell broke into a few laughs, before stifling his laughter. It seemed to suddenly dawn on the rest of the group what occurred between Arganan and Dagran, as all of them suddenly averted their gazes or looked skittish.

Arganan gave Dagran a small glare. "We should have taken our time with cleaning up."

Dagran smirked. "You were the one worrying about Calista getting worried over us being absent for so long."

"Fair."

"Oh my god." Lowell was the most stunned, jaw half-dropped as he gazed at them in awe. "Is this a post-resurrection thing, or was this going on prior to you two being dead?"

" _Definitely_  before we were dead." Dagran finally managed, shaking his head. "Moving on, please!"

Arganan looked like he might die embarrassment, given his reddening face. "Did your really have to say it like that!?"

"It's short and to the point. We'll get back to that later."

Zesha couldn't help but exchange a little grin with his brother as Arganan seemed to take in that statement, still slightly flustered, but a sigh escaped him. "Very well." He then glared at Lowell. "And for the love of our sanity, don't bring it up again."

Therius could tell that Lowell wanted to say 'no promises' but instead snickered and kept his mouth shut after that.

"Well," Mirania cleared her throat, walking around the desk to point at the map she laid out on it, "Back to things at hand—Zesha, did you ever hear from the Blood Creatures about how the Gurak Continent is doing?"

Zesha shook his head. "They should be coming back soon. I told them to search well."

Calista looked to Zesha. "You what?"

"I sent them ahead as scouts. To see how things were, in the Gurak Continent."

Zael frowned. "What if they get caught by Nox?"

"They won't. I need to trust them that much, at least." The Gurak King crossed his arms, before sighing. "It doesn't mean I can't hear them, though. Even when they're not here, I can hear their voices in my head."

"You can?" Zepha loked to his brother, his eyes glowing red briefly. He reached a hand towards the mark on Zesha's hand, before pulling his own hand away before they could touch. "I see. That means you're getting stronger. The more you associate yourself with being a Blood Warrior, the more in-touch with the creatures you become."

Therius looked to some of the Blood Creatures floating around in the room. "That explains their presence, I imagine."

He noticed Yurick pale at the sight of the creatures. Therius couldn't blame him for his fear, given that the poor mage was now attacked twice by these creatures, all because of Cassius and Nox.

"If you're saying that," Dagran managed, looking to Zepha, "That means Nox has a lot of experience. How many Blood Creatures were with him?"

"Um…" Mirania swallowed. "I didn't have enough time to count. Anyone else?"

"Probably at least ten." Everyone looked to see Syrenne speak up. "I didn't battle because of my condition, but I saw the whole thing. I counted at least ten trying to go after Yurick."

"And then we tried turning those creatures on Nox." Zesha looked to Zepha. "How did you do that?"

"It's another one of the powers of a Blood Warrior." Zepha managed, staring. "You don't know that one?"

"No." Mirania held out a book. "Zesha and I found a tome, but we can only unlock more information with drops of blood from Blood Warriors."

Zepha grinned wryly, taking out a small dagger. "Perhaps I can enlighten you without needing to unlock the whole book." Before anyone could protest, he cut one of his fingers, dripping blood. Mirania quickly opened the book to a few blank pages. As the blood dripped onto it, it clumped together before spreading all over the page, turning into inked words on the paper.

"Thank you, Zepha." Mirania murmured, using her healing magic on Zepha's finger to quickly heal the wound.

Zepha shrugged. "Anything to help take down Nox."

"Quick question," Lowell stated, looking to Zepha. "You were stuck under Nox's control for a while, right? Do you know if the Blood Creatures have preferences for whose souls they want to consume?"

"IF they wanted to baptize and suck the souls out of anyone they can," Zepha muttered, shaking his head, "I  _don't_ think they have a necessary preference for their appetite. Unless you're a fallen Blood Warrior. That can happen, too, if you fall in battle."

"But no one we've defeated has ended up like that." Therius pointed out. "Not yet. They usually just dissolve into blood, in Cassius and Ulrica's case, or the powers just leave them like Jirall and go to someone else. No one's been eaten alive by the Blood Creatures. At least, none of the Blood Warriors."

Zepha gave him a look. "Not  _yet."_

"You were there, right?" Zesha suddenly asked.

Zepha looked to him, frowning. "What do you mean?"

"The Gurak Continent, where Nox is." Zesha's gaze locked with his. "Are the people…? Do you know if they are…?"

It struck Therius that Zesha was right. Zepha would have been there, at the Continent, if Nox was currently residing there. Which meant that Nox was present when driving Zesha out of the Continent in the first place, too.

That means, Therius realized, Asthar might be there.

"They're allowed to resume with their normal day-to-day doings." Zepha managed. He looked faintly uncomfortable, but forced himself to continue explaining. "They only die if they try rebelling. No one has, as far as I know."

"What about Asthar?" Therius couldn't help but ask.

Zepha looked to him. "Asthar?"

"General Asthar. He was brought back to life by Nox and he's imprisoned. Do you know anything about how he's doing?"

Therius couldn't always figure out what state Asthar was so far, from what he saw of him in dreams. He knew Asthar clearly needed him, was doing his best to be freed from Nox's control and that, somehow, destroying all the minions of Nox so far helped with lessening the control over Asthar.

But would Asthar be okay?

Therius saw Zepha's face contort strangely, before he looked away from Therius, briefly. Then.

"He would not be happy to know I still live, I imagine."

Zesha hesitantly placed a hand in his brother's own, squeezing it in an attempt to comfort. "Did Nox…?"

Zepha looked Zesha in the eyes, then looked to Therius.

"Nox forced me to  _control Asthar_  when I previously was under Nox's control. Without me, Asthar could break out anytime—if Nox doesn't fully control him at this point, themselves."

Therius heard Mirania gasp. "That means—"

"He could be out." Therius finally managed. The very possibility of Asthar stumbling out of the Gurak Continent, alive and weary but no longer controlled, appeared in his mind's eye. "He could be trying to escape.

"I don't know if we can do anything to help. Or if he even has the energy to escape, himself." Zepha managed, looking to Therius. "Even if we defeated several of Nox's goons so far, that doesn't mean that he's free."

"If we get the Gurak Continent back," Calista finally stated, "Does that mean we can also free Asthar?"

Zesha glared at her.  _"And_  our people?" He snapped. Zepha gently squeezed Zesha's hand in return, in an attempt to calm him.

Calista stiffly nodded. "Yes. Them, as well."

"Then it's decided, isn't it?" Arganan finally managed. "We go rescue the Gurak Continent from Nox."

"We can't just barge in there." Zepha hissed, looking to him. "I know a few secret ways we can get onto the island and to the castle without notice. And we should also be aware that Nox has defeated many Blood Warriors before starting to battle us. We  _cannot_  be unprepared."

Mirania looked to him, her gaze hardening. "How much do you know about Nox?"

"More the rest of you." He quipped back, before looking to Dagran, pointing. "And you might know more, too. You escaped Nox long before I did, but that doesn't mean you know nothing."

"What?" Arganan looked to Dagran at his side, his good eye widening. "Is that true?"

Dagran ran a hand through his dark hair, jaw clenching. "Zepha, I told them all that I know. You'd know better."

Zepha gave him a look, but didn't say anything.

"So that does it, then." Therius finally managed. "We free the Gurak Continent and Asthar, and we defeat Nox. We should start preparing."

He heard Yurick groan. "Let's just hope Nox doesn't have any more goons of theirs on the way."

* * *

Nox stood, watching Asthar. The previously-dead General lay still in a cell, deathly pale. The Blood Warrior's mark on his torso, where Dagran once stabbed him, glowed a bit, before fading.

Nox tsked, crossed their arms, then scoffed.

"I need more power to use you."

They smirked, uncrossing their arms. The several necklaces that hung around their neck jingled from underneath the cloak covering them otherwise. One of their hands closed in a fist, before their hand glowed red. It wasn't the Blood Warrior's mark that caused it, though, but it was the mark of the Outsider.

"You know that well enough, Zangurak.  _Don't you?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: The Blood Warriors prepare for their trip to liberate the Gurak Continent and Asthar, but Zepha’s new information about Nox brings up a new problem.


	20. New Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Blood Warriors, in the middle of training before they head to the Gurak Continent, argue over who should stay and go. More specifically, whether Dagran should stay or go with them.

" _Ad bellum!"_

Zepha saw the whip appear in Arganan's hands, then took out his two own swords. Zesha was glad that he'd kept the North and South Wings safe in his possession when fleeing the Gurak Continent, or else he wouldn't have the opportunity to give them back to his brother.

Nor would he have the opportunity to see Zepha easily disarm Arganan of his whip and blast him across the room. The former Count groaned as he sat up, before his good eye glared towards a now-smirking Zepha. Calista and Zael were both nearby, watching, and Therius stood with them as well. Zesha,

"You could've killed me." Arganan spat.

"Funny," Zepha spouted back, raising an eyebrow back at him. "I thought we were training to prevent that."

Therius gave both men a look. "Try not to actually kill each other, please."

Dagran helped Arganan stand, before he looked to Zepha. "Perhaps we should duel next?"

"I want to try again," Arganan insisted, looking to Dagran. "Just one more time."

"And get your ass kicked for the fifth time?"

"Better to get my ass kicked now than later. Now," Arganan took a deep breath, before spitting out,  _"Ad bellum."_

The whip came out again, before it morphed into an elegant rapier. Bloody, but still elegant, with a silver and gold hilt.

Therius looked to the new blade. "That's a new skill."

"So you mastered changing your weapon." Zepha noted. "That's a skill Blood Warriors can figure out eventually. Helps their versatility in battle. However," He took a deep breath, summoning another spell, "That won't shield you from me."

He blasted his ice attack towards Arganan, only for the former Count to swipe at the ice with his sword. A wave of blood burst from the sword, cutting through the ice itself, before it hit Zepha, blasting him across the room.

"Brother!" Zesha ran to his twin's side, but Zepha got up easily by himself, a rough laugh escaping him.

"So, you have more bite than I thought. How cute."

"Fuck you," Arganan hissed back, but before Therius was about to tell both men to stay their blades, the doors banged open, Mirania running in.

"Miss Mirania?" Therius looked to her, startled. "What is the matter?"

"It's about the Blood Warrior's abilities." She looked to Zepha. "I examined the pages unlocked by you bleeding onto them earlier. It seems that the Blood Warrior, once they've gained enough power from downing others that wield the Blood Warrior's abilities, are capable of possession."

"Possession?" Therius blinked. "But we already knew that they could control people. That Nox is doing so to General Asthar. What's new about it?"

"It's because the Blood warrior, if especially powerful enough, can inhabit a dead person's body."

Everyone went silent at that. Therius ran a list of dead people through his head, lists of people that were dead and not resurrected like Zepha, Dagran, Asthar, Jirall and the former Count were.

"Zepha, Dagran? Did you ever see Nox's face?"

Everyone looked to Zepha first, who shook his head. "They always kept their face hidden underneath a cloak, but their form was large. Muscular, from what I could tell from their arms. I could hear the clink of their armor, too."

Dagran blanched, slowly, as he sat down on a nearby bench. "A large, muscular form...wait." He looked to Zepha. "Zangurak's dead, isn't he?"

Zepha went stiff at the mention of Zangurak. "Now that you mention our late Lord Zangurak," He finally managed, after a moment of silence, "Our opponent, this Nox—I recall them having a metal arm. And that wouldn't happen unless—"

"Unless the old one got ripped off." Arganan finished. Therius looked to him, but Arganan looked to Dagran. "You said that Zangurak ripped off his Outsider arm before he died, right?"

"He did. but then I stabbed it, and..." Dagran paused, before averting his gaze from him "Well, you know the rest."

"So," Mirania finally managed, shaking her head, "Does that mean it's possible Nox might be inhabiting Zangurak's body?"

Therius looked to her, recalling how Lord Zangurak first invaded Lazulis, and then recalled how he managed to move the Gurak Fortress to attack Lazulis Island during the last battle. "But if that's the case, he wouldn't have the Outsider's power if he detached it from himself prior to death."

"And no way to defend himself from being possessed once resurrected." Mirania looked to Zesha and Zepha. "If we go up against Nox, we might be fighting them in Zangurak's body. Are you prepared for that?"

Both twins looked to each other with matching gazes, and then towards the group.

"We would make Nox regret every moment he inhabited our Lord's body." Zepha's voice turned steely as he spoke.

"How dare they desecrate the dead," Zesha spat,  _"Especially_  him!"

"Speaking of desecrating the dead," Dagran finally spoke up, looking to the twins, "If it wasn't for that, none of us," He gestured to himself, Zepha, and Arganan in particular, "Would be alive. So why keep us alive, then? To be his minions like he did with Cerin, Jirall and Ulrica?"

"That's a possibility." Mirania flipped through another page of her book, before looking to Dagran. "When we, um, fought you with the Outsider's power—did it come back with you when you resurrected?"

Dagran looked down at both his hands, then looked up at her, hesitant. "Well..."

"You have it, don't you?" Arganan murmured, looking to him almost knowingly.

Dagran sighed, before holding up his right hand. An orangey-red glow came from it, and a gasp came from someone (Zael or Calista, Therius wasn't sure).

"It's the only reason I managed to get away from Nox." Dagran stated. He looked down at his hands again, picking at the bands around his wrists. "I was so  _angry_ , and the moment I let that rage out—I was out. I was free. So I ran."

"And came here." Arganan finished. The older man sat down beside Dagran, and for a moment, there was a softness in his gaze. "I'm glad you got away."

Dagran looked to Arganan, almost startled, but calmed as he rested his hand, still-glowing orange, in Arganan's own."I'm glad I got away, too."

The current Countess of Lazulis cleared her throat. "We'll need to discuss our plans for the Continent in a bit more detail." Calista managed, looking to Zesha, Zael, Therius, Arganan and Dagran. "In private. Mirania, do you mind leaving us for a moment?"

"I don't mind at all. I'll wait outside." Mirania quickly left.

It was just Zesha, Zepha, Zael, Therius, Arganan, Dagran and Calista in the training hall, now.

"Dagran," Zael spoke, "I think you need to stay back."

"I have the Outsider's power and the Blood Warrior's power, Zael." Dagran stated, frowning. "And I can actually control both those powers decently well, now. If there's anyone that stands a chance against Nox, it's me."

"We need at least one person to stay back to defend Lazulis, should the plan to liberate the Gurak Continent from Nox end up unsuccessful. You having both powers will be helpful for our defenses." Calista noted.

"Lucius is alive." Dagran stated, desperation in his tone. "And I definitely don't want  _him_  going into battle against Nox."

Arganan looked to Dagran. "I'd rather you not be dead, either.  _Or_  go up against him."

"I'm the more powerful between the two of us."

"Lucius?"

Zael's tone sounded confused, but Calista then sighed. "That's the first name of my uncle."

"Oh." Zael looked to Dagran, then to Arganan who shrugged, and Therius saw the realization dawn on Zael's face, a reminder of the relationship between Dagran and the former Count. "Right."

"Uncle, Dagran, you two are staying  _here."_  Calista's tone grew stern. "It's important that Zesha and Zepha both be there to help liberate their own Continent and people. It would be a bad idea to send my uncle in the first place, given the warring he caused against Zangurak in the past, and if Nox turns out to be possessing Zangurak as Mirania theorizes, that won't end well. Do the rest of the Gurak even know it's Nox within Zangurak in the first place?"

"Should also mention," Zesha quipped, looking to Dagran, "that if you came over to the Continent right now, I very much doubt our people would be happy to see you. They may not know that you tried taking Lord Zangurak's power, at the time, but it would still be hard to trust you."

"And Sir Therius doesn't count?" Dagran shot back, gesturing to the white knight. "He literally fought you. All of us here did, in some way!"

Therius cleared his throat, giving Dagran a side-eye borderlining on a glare. "I know we have appearances to worry about, but I believe that saving the people of the Gurak Continent from Nox's control should come first before that. I do agree that it would be bad to have the former Count go to the Continent and he should remain back in Lazulis, but Dagran's ability to wield both the Outsider and Blood Warrior's powers could be useful to turn the tide of battle in our favour."

Calista went silent. Zesha and Zepha both went silent, stunned. Even Calista and Zael looked a bit startled, but Arganan himself seemed almost impressed, from the faint smile on his face.

"Dagran," Therius started, looking to the man in question, "What can you do with the Outsider's power?"

"Not the same things as the first time, but," He looked to Zael, "I can slow down the enemy movements enough. Also managed to create some kind of shockwave that can blast them back, too, but it doesn't always work. It's a work in progress."

"That could still prove useful. Especially if we go up against a lot of Blood Creatures, too." Therius looked to Calista. "I think Dagran should come with us. Your uncle can remain here, but all the rest of us should go."

"Well..." Calista paused, and Zael swallowed.

"Calista—"

"Dagran can go." Calista looked a bit reluctant, but hid it from her tone. "But my uncle remains here. Is that clear?"

Therius bowed his head. "Of course, Lady Calista."

Calista nodded once, too, before her eyes scanned the others. "All of us should rest. You can depart for the Gurak Continent as soon as tomorrow morning."

"Of course. Good night."

Calista and Zael both left, before Dagran looked to Therius, frowning.

"You actually defended me." He stated.

Therius blinked. "Yes. And?"

"You know I killed Asthar. I thought you'd want me out of the fighting."

Therius didn't feel surprised by Dagran's statement. "I know you killed Asthar. Zael told me. But I also know that he'd bear no ill will towards you coming to help him. And we could use all the help we can get to free him and the Continent."

"Well..." A soft laugh escaped the golden-eyed man, before nodding once, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "Thanks. I owe you one."

Therius felt himself smile back, just a little. "It is no problem, Dagran."

Arganan turned Dagran to face him. "Just try not to die?"

Dagran smiled back at him, wryly. "I'm good at surviving. That was my life in the first place, after all."

Arganan cared nothing about anyone watching, given that he leaned in right then and there to kiss the younger man. Zesha and Zepha both exchanged glances that Therius couldn't interpret, and the white knight was just glad that Zael and Calista hadn't stayed long enough to see this happen, lest they react awkwardly as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Therius, Dagran, Zesha, Zepha, and Mirania all head to the Gurak Continent to liberate the people there, as well as Asthar. Meanwhile back on Lazulis Island, however, Arganan, Zael, and Calista have their own challenges.


	21. Untouched

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Therius, Dagran, Zesha, Zepha, and Mirania all head to the Gurak Continent to liberate the people there, as well as Asthar. However, something is amiss.

Their journey to the Gurak Continent was rather fast. Zesha and Zepha simply used their teleportation magic so they ended up reaching the main port of the Gurak Continent without the need to use a boat or airship. It made Therius wonder how powerful they were in their magical abilities even before they gained the powers of the Blood Warrior. He realized that he never asked, and he figured he should have. Therius figured that they probably had a lot of time to learn prior to the Gurak initially attacking Lazulis all that time ago. However, given the knowledge that Zepha's emphasis of using magic in combat while Zesha preferred swords and Bolt Arrows, it was obvious enough that Zepha was the stronger one.

He was just glad that he was working with them, and not against them.

The scent of blood greeted them as they made their way through the port, towards the main city or rather, tunneled areas that surrounded the Gurak Castle. Therius didn't see a lot of blood, save for several splatters of drying, browning blood on the ground. However, there were no corpses.

It made him think of his 'baptism.' What would have happened if he didn't survive?

"Did the Blood Creatures eat recent victims?" Zesha asked.

Zepha shuddered, looking away from the blood. "I'm very sure they did."

Dagran also looked slightly nauseated, in spite of his mercenary experiences. "Same with me. Nox tried to make other Blood Warriors so they could straight-up kill them and gain their power immediately afterwards. Sometimes it didn't work, and..." A grim chuckle escaped him as he gestured to the drying blood. "That's the end result."

"Nox would show it all off in front of us, too." Zepha took a few steps forward, then took out both his swords, looking around. "We should be careful. We may be Blood Warriors, but Nox is powerful enough to turn the Blood Creatures on other blood warriors, too, like what happened with last fight."

"I see." Therius looked to Mirania. "If you see any Blood Creatures…'

Mirania nodded. "I'll give a shout if we do."

The five continued their way through the Gurak castle town, but it was as if there were no other Gurak at all. Blood dripped from the roofs of some buildings, and though a Blood Creature passed by the group, Therius tensing at the sight, it didn't seem to notice them.

Strange.

He thought it would pay attention, and yet it ignored them? Taking a deep breath, he focused his gaze on the Blood Creature, before trying to think of the word.

" _Mandatum."_

The Blood Creature went still, and then turned to face them. It looked oddly blank-faced, save for the blood of course, as it floated over to them, stopping just within arm's reach. Therius examined it closely for any sign of retaliation, but it offered no resistance.

"Can you lead us to General Asthar?" The white knight asked. "Or at least, the building where he might be?"

The Blood Creature nodded, before starting to float away.

Zepha looked to Therius, swallowing. "Are you sure this is wise?"

"It'll get us somewhere." Therius managed. "Better than trying to wander about aimlessly and then we get attacked."

"Fair point. But we ought to be careful."

"Of course."

* * *

They made it to the Gurak Castle.

Oddly enough, they hadn't encountered any fellow Gurak on the way there, not even any guarding the gates. Just like the castle town, the entrance was rather bare. There were, however, more Blood Creatures floating around than in the town. None of them seemed to pay attention to the group.

Zesha focused on a few Blood Creatures wandering somewhat close to the group _, "Mandatum."_

The Blood Creatures all turned to stare at him, but Zesha simply glared back at them.

"Lead us to Asthar. And don't let us get killed by your fellow Blood Creatures if they try attacking us."

The crowd of Blood Creatures began floating ahead of the group. Zesha noticed the odd stare from Mirania and Therius, before Zesha shrugged. "I practiced that ability a lot. Thought it would come in use."

"Good timing." Was all Zesha heard Therius respond, before they continued on.

There were no Gurak in sight within the castle. It made Zesha tense up, pray that there would at least be a sign that they were alive.

"There were usually some of our kind here." He overheard Zepha speak. "Where are they?"

" _Away."_

" _Hide."_

" _Away."_

Both brothers turned to see the Blood Creatures leading them murmur amongst themselves.

"What do you mean, away?" Zesha asked. "Are they alive? Dead?"

" _Live. They live."_

"Are they here?"

"Live…live…"

The Blood Creatures stopped in their tracks, then pointed at a doorway; Zesha recognized it as the one that lead towards the dungeons.

Zepha took a step towards the entrance, extending a hand to feel along the edges of the doorway. "See the brown blood here?"

Zesha looked to his twin. "Is there something specific about this?"

"Yeah." Dagran took a step forwards, frowning. "Nox marked it as an area where Blood Creatures can't go into." He shook his head, picking at one of his wristbands briefly. "Meaning that if anyone's down there…'

"It might be our people." Zesha finally ended. He looked to Zepha, swallowing. "Did Nox…did he or they…?"

"He did round up plenty of the guards in the castle, as well as those of us that attempted rebelling against Nox to be placed down here." Zepha looked almost frozen as he stared at the dugeon doors. One of his hands shook as he moved to rest it on the door, before pushing it open with a creak. "Many of the ones brought down here did not live. Nox…this is where he performed what Dagran and I told you about earlier."

The forced 'baptisms.'

It made Zesha wonder, in that instant as he held his brother's spare hand in his own to attempt comforting him, how many of their people went down there and never came out.

How many of them were still down there?

"We find Asthar," Zesha heard Therius murmur, "We find your people, too. We must head in."

Zesha nodded once, leading his brother into the dungeons, hearing the others enter behind them.

"Yes. We must."

* * *

They encountered Gurak; women, children, and men alike in the cells, all of them held prisoner. Zesha immediately found the keys after some looking around, or just cut the locks on the cell doors open. Mirania overheard the excited cheers of joy, the relieved gasps that their king, Zesha, as well as his brother Zepha, were alright and alive.

"We have returned." Zesha started, facing his people once they had freed. It was a bit cramped in the dungeons, given all the Gurak beings previously stuck in their cells and the hallways of the dungeon not being too much bigger, but Zesha managed to have all eyes on him and his brother. "The Countess of Lazulis, Calista Arganan, has assisted us in coming here to reclaim our land from Nox. You no longer have to wait."

As a roused cheer came up among the freed prisoners, Mirania noticed Therius looking around.

"Therius?" She approached him, looking him in the eyes. "Is Asthar…?"

"He's not on this floor of the dungeon." Worry sunk into his gaze as he looked to her. "Is he down below?"

A clearing of the throat brought both their attention to Dagran, who walked over to them. "Asthar would be below, yeah. That's also where Nox kept me and Zepha. I can lead you down there if you'd like."

"Yes." Therius said, almost immediately. "Please."

After giving word to the two Gurak twins that they were heading deeper into the dungeons, Dagran eventually led Mirania and Therius to the stairs leading to the lower floors. The lower area was much darker, and Therius grabbed a torch to light the way just in case.

What they found at the end of the stairs was this.

There was an altar in the middle of the room. Surrounded by this altar were cages, some more bloodstained than others. The rest of the stone chamber was otherwise empty, stretching into darkness.

All of those cages surrounding the altar were empty except for one.

* * *

" _General!"_

Therius rushed to the cage, almost tripping over his feet in the hurry to get there, and he saw Asthar sit up fully in his cage, eyes wide. The General's blue coat was ripped, one of the torn sleeves exposing a bare arm, and he looked pretty scratched up. No mortal injuries, however,

"Therius?" Asthar's voice was hoarse, his gaze almost disoriented. "That…that you?"

"Yes. General," Therius tried to pull open the cage door, then scowled at seeing the lock, "We're here. We're going to get you out."

"Nox is…"

"Nox isn't here. There's no danger."

"Zepha said he and Zesha were going to send some of their guards around to check for Nox's presence in the castle, in case." Dagran managed. Asthar looked to Dagran, staring, and Dagran could only offer a wry smile. "Missed me?"

Asthar could only chuckle, looking down at himself and then up towards the younger man. "You look better than I last saw you. Lady Calista treated you well?"

"You could say that. Other good things happened, too."

Therius looked around. "Is there a key or…?"

Dagran got on a knee by the cage door, facing the lock. "I'll get him out."

"Are you injured?" Mirania asked Asthar.

Asthar looked to the nature mage, offering her a soft grin. "It's not so much the physical pain that hurts as much as the damage to my mind that does. Nox gave me plenty of nightmares, but I'm otherwise mostly fine."

There was a scar along one of Asthar's arms, and Therius soon noticed a specific symbol.

"The Blood Warrior." Therius breathed. He pointed towards the mark. "General, did they..?"

"Yes. Nox brought me back to life and baptized me. Just like what he did to Zepha and Dagran. And Jirall, too." Asthar shuddered, before looking to Therius. "This will sound rather grim of me, but I'm glad you killed Jirall. After Zepha and Dagran escaped…he suffered the most, other than me."

Dagran made a face, the lock clicking as it unlocked. "Let's not talk about Jirall."

"Agreed."

The cage door opened, and Therius helped Asthar to his feet after helping him get out. Letting the General lean on him for support, relief sunk into Therius at that moment.

The Gurak Continent was free. Asthar was free. Asthar was alive.

Therius was thankful for how this went.

"Wait a minute."

It was Mirania's statement that made Therius freeze. The nature mage looked around, before looking to Asthar.

"If Nox isn't here…where are they?"

Asthar grimaced and looked away, but then a heavy sigh escaped him.

"They said they were heading to Lazulis. Down to the Reptid caves to plan an attack from the underground."

* * *

It was in that moment that Therius realized that things were about to go horribly wrong.

Zael came rushing into Calista's office, where she and her were currently discussing, having been in the middle of plans to take down Nox should Nox show up at the Lazulis port."Calista, I received a report from one of the guards."

Calista took the paper from Zael, unfolding it before reading. Her eyes scanned the page, before she frowned. "...The well?"

"They heard whispering from that well. Whispers of Blood Creatures."

Calista looked up to see her uncle paling. "But," Calista put the letter down, shaking her head. "Why would they be down there in the first place? What can they gain?"

Zael hesitated, biting his lower lip, then asked, "Could it be Nox summoning them?"

All three of them went silent at that, before Arganan stiffly looked to Zael, swallowing. "Nox didn't head back to the Gurak Castle after previously attacking Therius and the others at the Arena."

Calista dreaded the next three words her uncle managed.

"They went underground."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Calista, Arganan, and Zael must deal suppressing an underground attack. Meanwhile, Asthar, Therius, Mirania and Dagran race back to Lazulis while Zesha and Zepha try their best to rally their newly freed forces to help them.


	22. Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arganan and Zael bring some of their fellow mercs to help try to stop an underground attack, and the former Count and the new Count of Lazulis get the opportunity to bond while doing so. Meanwhile, the Gurak brothers prepare to go back to Lazulis and have a heart to heart, while Therius and Asthar take a moment to talk.

Arganan offered to go underground with Zael through the well to see what the fuss was about with the Blood Creatures. Zael managed to take Syrenne, Lowell and Yurick along with them. Calista remained back at the castle to rally the castle's guards and prepare them for any attack from Nox and secure the castle, as well as the rest of the city, so that they were less likely in harm's way when the time came.

Also, Arganan just seriously thought Zael would get himself killed if he didn't go with him. These were Blood Creatures they were dealing with, after all.

"So, we got the former Count and the new Count." Arganan overheard Lowell chuckle as they made their way through the tunnel underneath the well. The former Count still found it odd that there was a tunnel down this way the whole time. Then again, it could have been an old route created by the Reptids some time ago.

_Pesky Reptids. If not for them and their tunnel digging, we wouldn't have the situation of Nox planning to invade Lazulis from here!_

A few Blood Creatures seemed to greet them with stares, but Arganan glared at them, stepping in front of the group.

" _Mandatum."_  He ordered, and he saw them all freeze on the spot where they floated, before they all focused their gazes on him. "You are  _not_ eating me, nor these people with me. Understood?"

The Blood Creatures nodded, a few of them floating away, but one of them remained, floating towards Arganan until it stared him directly in the eye. The former Count backed up slightly, trying to maintain some distance, but then the Creature extended a hand forwards and smeared his cheek with some fresh blood.

He heard Yurick gag a bit. "Do they do that often?"

Arganan tried not to glare at the fire mage. "I think they like me too much." He kept his gaze on the Blood Creature as he commanded, "Don't do that again."

The Blood Creature seemed to whine, but then it floated away. Syrenne and Lowell both exchanged chuckles as Zael sighed.

"Shall we keep moving forward?"

"That's fine with me." Arganan looked to his nephew-in-law, before stating, "You lead, Zael. You've been down here before. I'll try to secure the Blood Creatures not outright killing us on first sight."

Zael blinked, staring at him. "You mean that?"

The former Count stared right back at him. "Um, yes. Why question it?"

"I just thought…" Zael started, then shook his head. "Never mind. Let's keep going."

* * *

Zesha read through several of the reports offered to him by Gurak servants, frowning. "Zepha, how are the wounded?"

Zepha looked to Zesha, swallowing slightly as he noticed Zesha's jaw tense. "All of them are being cared for in the hospital wing. Most have minor injuries, thankfully, but some were on death's door. Most that have minor injuries were civilians. The ones that are dying account for twelve of our still-living guards, two healing mages, five offensive-magic mages, and six archers."

"How many are dead?"

Zepha bowed his head. "Half of the army you had prior to Nox taking over is dead. The surviving half informed me that many of them were…used for Nox's plans of baptizing and—"

"Damn it." Zesha slammed the papers down on the desk ,some of the servants nearby shuddering or flinching. "Damn it, Zepha,  _half_ our army? If we send even half our surviving troops to Lazulis…"

Zepha paused, looking to the other servants, before taking a deep breath. "I'd like to speak with His Highness privately. All of you are dismissed for now—half of you check on those in the hospital wing and give us any updates on their conditions as soon as you can, and the rest of you will help any civilians reunite with their families."

The servants all bowed and left quickly. Zesha and Zepha waited until the servants were gone before Zepha looked Zehsa in the eye.

"I know you are frustrated, brother. I am just as much."

Zesha let a hollow laugh escape him, shaking his head. "You were always better at handling your emotions. The way I am, I—I always doubted I could rule this Continent well, after you and Lord Zangurak died."

"Zesha, surely you don't mean—"

"But I  _do."_  The current Gurak King fully met Zepha's gaze this time. The screams of his frightened people back then still rung in Zesha's ears at times. Not that he bothered telling Calista or anyone else during his time in Lazulis, but still. "I let Nox take over—"

"You were overpowered and didn't know what else to do—"

"I abandoned our people at the time. It's a  _miracle_  they listened to us when we came back."

"And look what you've done," Zepha started, gesturing with a hand towards the window in the office. Outside, there were Gurak all reuniting with their families and loved ones, some of the soldiers and guards guiding them back to their homes or handing out rations to eat. "After we came back, you organized all this. They got back to their families. Their homes. They have food, and are definitely not terrorized by Blood Creatures. You helped them. You're helping them."

Zesha looked away from the window after a moment of watching. He didn't know what to say.

"Look at me, brother." Zepha spoke, and Zesha did. "Do you know why they listened to you when you came back? Because  _you're their King, and they trust you_. They love you and are glad that you're back. If they weren't, they wouldn't be listening to you in the first place. A King is only as strong as how much they care for the people, and how much the people support them back. That's how Lord Zangurak united us all in the first place, and that's how you're fixing the mess that happened with Nox."

Zepha grabbed Zesha by the shoulders, looking him in the eyes.

"Don't," Zepha hissed, "sell yourself short. I think Lord Zangurak would be proud of you for reclaiming the Gurak Continent."

Zesha laid a hand on one of Zepha's hands on his shoulder, forcing himself to take a breath. Zepha had a point—and he knew he couldn't just back away now.

"Thank you, Zepha. I won't forget that."

* * *

Syrenne scowled as she batted away the third Blood Creature that accidentally wandered a tad too close to them. Even if the Blood Creatures weren't attacking them, they still sometimes got too curious about them, accompanying them with stares and trying to touch them. "How many Blood Creatures are there down here!?"

Lowell shrugged. "I lost count after ten. They do look rather alike though, Syrenne, so maybe they're all the same Blood Creature."

Yurick groaned, shaking his head. "Lowell, that's ridiculous. There are clearly more than ten and they are all not the same Blood Creature."

"Not even  _multiple_  copies of the same one?"

" _No."_

Arganan almost hissed at the three, but then looked to Zael instead. "How the hell did you live with them?"

Zael shrugged. "You get used to it," he managed, but a soft chuckle escaped him. There was an almost nostalgic look in his eyes, clouding his gaze into nowhere, but then he blinked and it cleared. "It's not always easy, but we've bonded over the years. We're used to this."

"I imagine that must be so." Arganan looked down at his own metal hand, then up at Zael. "About the time before my own death—I just wanted to say thank you."

"What?"

"Thank you," Arganan stated, "for taking care of Calista. For being there for her. I definitely wasn't, I should have been, but I wasn't. And I'm glad you and you friends are there for her." He paused, then added, "And sorry for trying to manipulate all of you."

"Count…"

" _You're_  the Count now. Not me."

Silence fell between them. Zael awkwardly cleared his throat, then spoke up again.

"Do you," Zael started, then asked again, "Do you have any idea if you'll still be alive once Nox is done with? What might happen?"

Arganan laughed, then shook his head.

"I've got no fucking clue. Just as long as Lazulis and Calista are safe, I'm happy. As long as Dagran's fine, I'm at peace with that. As long as Calista has people there for her—I can live with that."

Zael paused, then looked Arganan in the eye.

"I'm…glad to hear that. And apology's accepted, by the way."

Arganan didn't think Zael would apologize. He wasn't sure what to say. A thank you? He didn't know.

"Um, Zael? Arganan?" That was Yurick speaking up, and the two turned to see the fire mage pointing up ahead. "We've got company."

There was a hooded figure standing in the clearing up ahead, surrounded by several Blood Creatures. Unlike the previous ones they faced so far, however, these ones looked hostile, given their snarls and biting motions at the very sight of the group.

Arganan instinctively stepped forwards, pushed Zael behind him. "If it's one of Nox's minions, I need you all to run ahead of me and get to Nox yourselves. I can buy you time."

"You sure about that?" Lowell sounded a bit concerned. "Can you fight by yourself?"

"I have the Blood Warrior's power. I can at least muster up  _something,_  and I've defeated Jirall before. This one might not be much different."

The figure laughed, their voice booming through the corridor.

" _No need to run ahead. I'm right here."_

"Right here?" Zael echoed, just before the figure reached up with their hands to tear off the cloak.

The face of the man that stood before them was familiar, and same with the red, wild hair. Their armor was soaked with blood, and one arm was clearly metal. The Blood Warrior's mark glowed on their armor's chestplate, and despite the changes, Arganan thought exactly the same thing that Syrenne spoke.

"Zangurak? Bloody hell…?"

The figure laughed, shaking his head, and Arganan realized that it wasn't quite Zangurak.

" _It is I, Nox. The body you know as Zangurak is merely a shell. Ad bellum."_  Nox stepped forwards, tsking a bit. A greatsword appeared in Nox's hands after that summoning spell, before they spoke again,  _"It's a pity I couldn't use the first Gurak King as a minion like I could with Jirall. Would've been entertaining to watch."_

Arganan was suddenly glad neither of the Gurak brothers were here. Surely they'd be pissed over seeing this happening.

_Looks like the possession theory from earlier was correct._  The former Count gritted his teeth.

" _Ad bellum!"_ A rapier appeared in Arganan's hand, before he pointed it at the Nox-possessed Zangurak. "You're not going to destroy Lazulis, if that's what you're here for."

Several of the Blood Creatures suddenly appeared by Nox's side, hissing. Nox simply smiled, before speaking.

" _Mandatum_ _ **. Kill them all."**_

* * *

Therius watched Asthar put on the blue coat, before he spoke.

"General? Are you alright?"

Currently they were in one of the hospital wing rooms of the Gurak Castle. Dagran and Mirania had went to go help out the Gurak civilians get back to their homes, as well as prepare for the fight, and Zesha and Zepha were figuring things out regarding that same matter, so Therius and Asthar had been left to their own devices.

Asthar turned to face him, offering his pupil a soft smile. "I'm fine, Therius. Feeling a lot better, thanks to you." He looked Therius up and down, for a moment, before stating, "You've grown since I last saw you."

"You've spoken to me in my dreams." Therius pointed out. "It hasn't been that long since, has it?"

"Dreams are one thing. Reality is another." Asthar looked down at himself with a sigh, briefly, before looking up at Therius again. "When Nox had me in their grasp…my talking to you in dreams was a way to escape their torturous nightmares. Of course, I couldn't keep you talking to me the whole time; you had to fight Nox and I had to fight them separately. But I never lost hope that you'd do the right thing and stop Nox."

Therius swallowed. "General," He asked after a moment, "Did you expect to die before we came?"

Asthar nodded, a grimace stretching over his face as he adjusted his coat sleeves. "Nox boasted to me that they would kill me at some point. That I'd be some grand finale for someone to watch. Perhaps they were saving me for you to see, perhaps someone else. I don't know. But I'm glad I've lived long enough to see you again, and…"

"I don't want you to die again."

The words escaped Therius faster than he could think. Asthar went still, before shaking his head.

"I've already died once. It's possible I could die again."

"Not so soon. I don't want you to die too soon." Therius found the desperation rising. "You already died once, and…"

Asthar gave him a look, and for a moment Therius was taken back to the memory of the two in the Lazulis Castle courtyard, just after Therius' first meeting Syrenne. "Therius.  _Most_  people only die once."

Silence fell between them. Therius looked away from him, and he sensed Asthar turn away. Therius then felt Asthar's hand on his shoulder, and Therius turned to face him, locking eyes with his mentor.

"General—"

"I'm sorry, Therius." Asthar's eyes held regret. "I know you were very worried about me. I could feel that the whole time."

"I'm sorry for causing you pain."

"I should be the one apologizing for that."

Asthar pulled Therius in for a hug—a full, two-armed tight hug. They didn't do this often, in general. Usually it was a pat on the shoulder or a quick one arm around the shoulders or (on rare occasions, when Therius was much younger) Asthar messing up Therius' hair. But this was different. This wasn't one of those 'I'm proud of you' or 'encouragement' sort of embraces.

This was relief of reuniting, and fear of losing each other again. Both of them felt it too well.

"Therius?"

"Yes?"

Asthar looked him in the eye. "Promise me that whatever happens, you'll keep following the path you believe in."

Therius knew he couldn't say no, even as the faintest bit of hesitation reached him. It was hard losing Asthar once, hard to fathom the idea of losing him again, but he knew this was something that could happen deep down. They had to be prepared for anything.

"General…I promise."


End file.
